by Connie Tabbert
Editor
BEACHBURG — Two of three teams from Beachburg Public School that participated in the Destination Imagination event are heading to Toronto to compete at the provincial level.
DI (Destination Imagination) is a global organization that focuses on creativity, innovation, problem solving and team work, said Jody Kitson-Roy, principal at Beachburg school.
There are two to seven people on a team that are formed in the fall of the school year, she said, adding, each team picks a challenge from fine art, structural, scientific, service learning/project outreach, improvisational, instant challenge and early learning/rising stars.
There are various divisions such as elementary, middle, high school and university.
After choosing the challenge, the students work together to solve the challenge, whether it be building a structure with only paper or solving a scientific challenge, Ms. Kitson-Roy said.
In the improv, it could be researching a number of improv games, such as street performances and the students are provided with various random settings and situations, she explained.
The students have one minute to plan a skit, which they are judged on, and two minutes to present the skit, she said. She believes there are three different challenges provided to the students in the improv. She noted within a minute, students must decide who will play what roles and how to perform the situation.
In the structural challenge, the students could be given balloons, paper clips, paper and straws and asked to build a tower as tall as possible and that is creative. Again, she noted, the students have one minute to plan the building and two minutes to build it.
Earlier this month, the students competed at the regional competition held in Arnprior.
Along with the three teams from Beachburg, there were two teams from Our Lady of Grace Catholic School and Westmeath Public School, both in Westmeath.
The top two teams in each division and category are going on to the provincial tournament, which is in Pickering on March 28. The top two teams from that event will compete at the international competition in Knoxville, Tennessee
There were 53 teams at the regional event, Ms. Kitson-Roy said.
This event is popular in the Greater Toronto Area and three years ago arrived in Renfrew County, first at Palmer Rapids Public School, where Ms. Kitson-Roy was principal (before being appointed to Beachburg).
She recalled there being no regional competition three years ago, so the students went right to the provincial, where they won, and they went on to Tennessee.
“While they didn’t win there, they did really well,” she said. “It was an experience of a lifetime for those students. It was phenomenal to go to Tennessee.”
The program really got a boost when retired IBM employee Doug Hunter latched onto it and it ballooned into what it is today, she said.
“He realized these are skills kids need for the future,” Ms. Kitson-Roy said. “They learn creativity, problem solving and team building. He really promotes it.”
Last year, 24 teams competed in Renfrew and that number almost doubled this year, she said. Along with Renfrew County schools competing in Arnprior, there were teams from the Ottawa school board, the French school board and Kingston.
While Our Lady of Grace Catholic School teams did not place in the top two this year, last year one of their teams did compete in Tennessee. The Dominators and The Awesome Animals did well, but didn’t advance.
The Westmeath Performing Stars competed in the Improv and placed third.
The three Beachburg teams were the Blue Bananas, Five Bright Ideas and Combustible Squad. The Blue Bananas and Combustible Squad each competed in structural and tied for second, so are going to the provincial event. The Five Bright Ideas competed in the improv, but while they did well, did not place.
In the structural competition, the Combustilbe Squad had to build a structure that was light, a specific height and could pass the structure tester. While weight was added to the structure, pieces had to be removed while it still remained strong, Ms. Kitson-Roy explained.
The Blue Bananas had a cardboard box with wings on it. They created three uses with the box — a plane with wings on it, a boat with a rudder and a rocket, she said.
To do this, they started with the box and the wings. They then took the wings and made them into a rudder and finally turned the box upright and used the wings on the side. Two students had to be in the box at all times, she said.
As well, the students also had to perform physically, musically and with nature, within a time limit, she said. They had to choose two and the judge also watched them to ensure they were used.
There are so many skills the students learn, Ms. Kitson-Roy said.
“We really need to understand the value and lifelong skills it teaches children,” she said.
It took a lot of time for the students to learn the challenges and it was during extra-curricular time and recess over several months, she said.
It was amazing to watch the growth of the students as they prepared their challenges, she said. She saw the challenges they were faced with while trying to solve the team challenges.
They had to learn that each person has different personalities and that they will clash, but they need to learn to value each others contributions, she said.
“They had to use the strengths of all of them to make it a team success,” she said. “It was amazing to see the teams start out and to see how much they grew and learned by January/February.”
It was also fortunate teacher Jeff Schwan understands the value of DI, Ms. Kitson-Roy said. He valued it and donated a “tremendous time of work” to the program.
Occasional teacher Kayla Tanguay was the Blue Bananas team manager while Ms. Kitson-Roy was the manager for Five Bright Ideas.
The students are now preparing to participate in the provincial competition.
Our Lady of Grace
Catholic School teams
Awesome Animals:
Haley Vanderzwaag
Dominic Vanderzwaag
Riley Couturier
Caleb Vigon
Piper Tubman
Kailey Huckstep
Brayden Huckstep
Dominators:
Hannah Bejjany
Tara Bradley
Katie Kosowan
Reuben Jamieson
Spencer Leveck
Nicolas Price
Hunter Robertson
