Medina 8th graders advance to Destination Imaginations Global Finals

Posted 12 April 2016 at 12:00 am

Event in Knoxville considered Celebration of Creativity in the World

Photo courtesy of Medina Central School – Medina’s Destination Imagination team includes, from left: Jack Masse, Layna Valoria, Mary Flores, Abigail Newman, Margaret Klotzbach, Elle Gross and Nate Sherman.

Press Release, Medina Central School

MEDINA – After achieving honors for creativity, teamwork and innovation in regional and state academic tournaments, Medina High School has earned the right to compete in Destination Imagination’s Global Finals, the world’s largest celebration of student creativity, to be held May 25-28 in Knoxville, Tenn.

Medina team members include Jack Masse, Abigail Newman, Layna Valoria, Margaret Klotzbach, Elle Gross, Mary Flores and Nate Sherman.

They will compete with other teams in Get A Clue, one of seven, open-ended challenges that require students to apply science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) skills, in addition to their talents in improvisation, theater arts, writing, project management, communication, innovation, teamwork, community service and social entrepreneurship.

“The team is so excited,” said Nicole Goyette, district coordinator. “They have worked since second grade as a team toward this goal. We are extremely proud of them.”

The Medina team is among more than 8,000 students representing more than 1,400 teams that will advance to Global Finals, which will be held at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville May 25-28.

“It’s amazing to see students from all over the state come together to showcase their talents and teamwork,” said Julie Webber, Medina High School Principal. “It was awesome to see the teamwork displayed by our Medina students over the past several months of preparation. I know their excitement and energy will continue to the Global competition.”

This year, 150,000 students have participated in Destination Imagination tournaments throughout the U.S. and 30 countries in hopes of earning a spot at the Global Finals competition in May.

“The Destination Imagination program is a fun, hands-on system of learning that fosters students’ creativity, courage and curiosity,” said Chuck Cadle, CEO of Destination Imagination. “Quantitative reasoning, collaborative problem solving, risk taking, collaboration, presentations and thinking on your feet are some of the important skills learned in the program.”

Destination Imagination is a leader in project-based learning opportunities that blend STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) education with the arts and social entrepreneurship. Its academic challenges are designed to teach kids how to think, not what to think, and then present their solutions at regional and state tournaments.

Each year, DI competitions begin with a regional tournament, where team solutions are assessed by a panel of trained appraisers, ranging from educators to artists to engineers. Each team solution is scored on a variety of elements, including originality, workmanship, presentation and teamwork. Teams with the highest scores advance to the Affiliate (state or country) tournaments. The top-tiered teams from the Affiliate tournaments advance to Global Finals.

For more information about Global Finals, click here.