A group of students and teachers from the Academy of Notre Dame represented Massachusetts recently at the Destination Imagination Global Finals in Knoxville, Tennessee.
The Destination Imagination (DI) team of Elizabeth Bennett of Lowell; Olivia Blatus of Dracut; Yasmine Ebeed of Windham, NH; Ashley Hall of Pelham, NH; Ingrid Hanson of North Billerica; Tatiana Bazzani of Nashua, NH and Olivia Sergi of Pepperell came in first place in the Fine Arts challenge during the state DI competition in April. The win earned them the opportunity to advance to Global Finals.
"I am so proud of the girls and everything they have accomplished," says Jacinta Patterson, English teacher and DI Advisor. "Half of the team is participated in DI for the first time, but they represented us at Nationals as if they were a veteran team.”
Destination Imagination (DI) teaches students the creative process through STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics), the arts and service learning Challenges. DI’s project-based learning has helped more than 1.5 million students tap into their creativity and learn the skills they need to build successful careers.
Teams that participate in DI tournaments solve two types of challenges, a team challenge and an instant challenge. Team Challenges are open-ended projects that are worked on over an extended period of time, usually two-four months. Instant challenges are presented on the day of the event.
To win the state tournament, the Academy’s team presented a ‘whodunnit’ mystery story with an ending so mysterious even they didn't know the culprit until competition. In costumes made of paint chips and Starburst wrappers and surrounded by set pieces that helped point to the guilty party, the girls discovered the assailant and defeated the competition.
The top-tiered teams from each state qualify for the DI Global Finals, an international tournament that includes more than 8,000 kids from 15+ countries. With more than 17,000 people attending the event, Global Finals is the world’s largest celebration of creativity.
“We attended the opening and closing ceremonies and paraded through the stadium with teams from other states and countries around the world while they sang their national anthems,” said Patterson. “Dr. Roosevelt Y. Johnson, NASA's deputy associate administrator for education was the keynote speaker at the graduation ceremony.”
“The teams teamwork, creativity, and poise has been a joy to witness,” said Patterson. “Although they didn’t place at Nationals, they delivered a standout performance.”
Outside of the competition, the girls made new friends, participated in adventure games and expos and engaged in pin trading, a huge part of DI culture. “Of course, they’re favorite part of the week though may have been a key rite of passage for DI performers – the destruction of their site and props,” said Patterson.
