Two Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) Destination Imagination teams placed at the Global tournament held May 22-25 in Kansas City.
More than 500 teams composed of elementary, middle and high school students, as well as university-level teams, were tasked to solve one of six problems in the long-term academic event that challenges students to work together to apply creativity, critical thinking skills and unique talents. The challenges included Pinball Heroes: Technical; Going The Distance: Engineering; Blast From the Past: Scientific; In Motion: Fine Arts; So Extra: Improvisational; and Uncharted: Service Learning. Teams at the global event represented the United States, Asia, Europe, South America and Australia, with 30 teams representing Maryland.
The Dream Team from Mary H. Matula Elementary and Milton M. Somers Middle schools earned ninth place among 36 competing teams at the middle level in the Uncharted: Service Learning category. The team advanced to the global tournament after earning a first-place award at the state competition. The team is combined of Matula and Somers students, as the team has been competing together since elementary school.
The Uncharted: Service Learning challenge engaged students in public service. Teams were required to identify, design, carry out and evaluate a project to address a community need. As part of the project, student teams had to create and present a fantasy story about a character who goes on a quest, and design and create a fantasy map that uses technical methods to represent location information from the story. As its public service element, the Dream Team wrote thank you letters to first responders across the United States and met with local first responders to collaborate on the project.
Team members are Somers seventh grader Karina Elliott, and sixth graders Liana DeLeonard, Emma Mackey, Artin Malkasian and Natalie McCune, and Matula fifth graders Gwendolyn Elliott and Jason Falkler. Matula parent Leigh Falkler is the team manager, and the team DI school sponsor is Matula first-grade teacher Amanda Warner-Hoffman.
The What The Dog Doin? team from Walter J. Mitchell Elementary School earned 11th place among 46 competing teams at the elementary level in the Blast From The Past: Scientific category. The team advanced to the global tournament after earning a first-place award at the state competition. The challenge required students to complete scientific research and mix it with the creative expression of performance art.
As part of the challenge, student teams had to create and present a story about a character whose discovery of an artifact leads to a finding, include an archaeological investigation that contributes to the finding, and design and create a puppet that will portray a character from the past. The Mitchell team presented a story about a fictional university mascot that led a group of visitors on a scientific investigation on a school campus and across the world.
Team members are Mitchell fifth graders Hailey Cook, Christie Perez and Rowan Pheulpin, fourth grader Kamerine Cunningham and third graders Jayden Achoh and Aislyn Pheulpin. Mitchell parent Valerie Cook is the team manager, and the team DI school sponsor is Deanna Gomez, principal secretary at Mitchell.
The students, team managers and school sponsors will be recognized by the Board of Education at its June 17 work session.
Additionally, a team from St. Mary’s Bryantown School, the Smarties, competed at the Global event in the So Extra: Improvisational challenge. The team earned a ninth-place award among 25 competing teams at the middle level.
Destination Imagination is a creative problem-solving program for students in grades kindergarten through college and is active in 50 states and more than 40 countries. Teams of up to seven members work to solve different challenges and present their solutions to a panel of judges. Students compete at the regional, state and global levels. To learn more about Destination Imagination, visit https://www.destinationimagination.org/.
About CCPS
Charles County Public Schools provides 27,765 students in grades prekindergarten through 12 with an academically challenging education. Located in Southern Maryland, Charles County Public Schools has 38 schools that offer a technologically advanced, progressive and high quality education that builds character, equips for leadership and prepares students for life, careers and higher education.
The Charles County public school system does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age or disability in its programs, activities or employment practices. For inquiries, please contact Kathy Kiessling, Title IX/ADA/Section 504 Coordinator (students) or Nikial M. Majors, Title IX/ADA/Section 504 Coordinator (employees/ adults), at Charles County Public Schools, Jesse L. Starkey Administration Building, P.O. Box 2770, La Plata, MD 20646; 301-932-6610/301-870-3814. For special accommodations call 301-934-7230 or TDD 1-800-735-2258 two weeks prior to the event. CCPS provides nondiscriminatory equal access to school facilities in accordance with its Use of Facilities rules to designated youth groups (including, but not limited to, the Boy Scouts).