Monday, May 7, 2007

Fort Worth ISD students conquer “Destination Imagination,” teams head to glocal competition in Knoxville

By Pegasus News wire

Students from Fort Worth ISD's Ridglea Hills Elementary School and Applied Learning Academy placed first and second in their divisions at the State Destination Imagination Tournament in Dallas on April 14, qualifying for the global tournament in Knoxville later this month. A team from Monnig Middle School also qualified, taking third place in their division.

As a result the Fort Worth ISD is the only school district in the Greater Fort Worth Area Creative Problem Solving Organization (CPSO) that will send teams to the global competition. The Designation Imagination Global Competition will be held in Knoxville, Tennessee, May 21-26. The Fort Worth ISD teams will be among 8,000 students competing that week who have emerged from a field of 350,000 participants worldwide.

The elementary school teams participated in a challenge called Card-DI-ology. Without the use of computers or outside assistance, students spent months creating a structure using an ordinary deck of playing cards that could support eight hundred pounds or more, while limiting the size of the structure to eight inches in height. The students worked on the design and implementation of the structure, testing and re-testing their prototypes until they found a design they believed would be most efficient for the competition.

The Monnig team participated in an improvisational challenge called Switching TraDItions. After researching six different nations and traditions prior to the tournament, students randomly picked three of those traditions at the competition and created scenes with strong story lines. Teams had only 30 minutes to incorporate a variety of improv elements, using simple materials like tape, boxes and fabric to create props and costumes. The Monnig team impressed the appraisers with a humorous skit that included mushroom hunting in Belarus and samba dancing in Brazil.

"These eighteen students have competed with commitment and enthusiasm through each level," says Lori Blakley, a 3rd grade teacher at Ridglea Hills and Regional Director of the Greater Fort Worth Area Creative Problem Solving Organization (CPSO). "They have been led by amazing volunteer managers who have given hundreds of hours to facilitate this journey. The Fort Worth ISD can be incredibly proud of these students."

The three teams are currently raising money for the cost of participating in the D.I. Global Tournament. In addition to a variety of student fundraisers, the group is accepting corporate donations from area organizations.

The Destination Imagination program emphasizes teamwork, critical thinking, creativity, knowledge application, problem solving, presentation skills, time management, research and budgeting skills. Fort Worth teams have gone to the Global Tournament for the past three years and have reached the state competition for the last nine years.

For more information on Destination Imagination, visit www.destinationimagination.org or learn about the global competition at www.globalfinals.org.

For information about the Fort Worth ISD teams or to contribute to the Global Tournament fund, contact Lori Blakley at lblak@fortworthisd.net.

See more stories in:

• Fort Worth ISD > Fort Worth ISD Elementary Schools > Ridglea Hills
• Fort Worth ISD > Fort Worth ISD Other Schools > Alice Carlson Applied Learning Center