For the 8th year in a row, Dover Sherborn Destination Imagination (DSDI) competed in the Regional competition against teams from Ashland, Natick, Sudbury, Wayland, Newton and Boston. Nearly 65 DS students constituted twelve teams, and they all took to the stage at the Wilson Middle School in Natick on Saturday, March 17, to showcase their hard work, creativity, and ingenuity. Of the twelve teams competing, seven were awarded third place or higher, with five placing first in their respective categories and advancing to the Massachusetts state tournament at Worcester Polytechnic Institute on Saturday, March 24.
All team competing worked tirelessly since the Fall creating solutions to “Central Challenges,” which are published annually by the global Destination Imagination program. They are open-ended challenges for teams to choose from in focus areas that are Technical, Scientific, Fine Arts, Improvisational, Structural, Service Learning, and Early Learning. Participants learn and experience the creative process from imagination to innovation, which fosters their curiosity, courage, and creativity. They learn higher order thinking and improve in creative and critical thinking while learning to work together as a team.
The Dover Sherborn DI program has grown tremendously in the last eight years. It was piloted in 2010 with just one team of five students. The program has since expanded and is stronger than ever, with teams from the DS Middle, Chickering Elementary, and Pine Hill Elementary schools all participating. Since 2013, at least one team from the DSDI program has participated every year in the Global competition held at the University of Tennessee.
First place finishers:
IMPROV - Middle School level
The Blue Mustaches - 6th grade (Rohan Bahadur, Angie Feng, Caroline Guillette, Kate Hammerness, Naimh Sharpe, Dylan Melenovsky, and Katie Murray)
IMPROV - Elementary level
The Super 5 Emoji’s – 4th grade (Stephen Alphas, Isabella Campanella, Vivian Kamphaus, Grace Melanson, Charlie Potter)
The Hyper Dancing JK PAWS – 4th grade (Patrick Driscoll, Kyle Embree, William Lombard, Aidan Tayebati, Jonathan Shen)
FINE ARTS - Elementary level
The Flying Cookies – 4th grade; (Addie Collum, Avery Hadfield, Clare Lombard, Kiera Luce, Isabella Morrill, Sally Siegal)
SERVICE LEARNING - Elementary level
The Flying Coconuts – 3rd grade (Lexi Gentile, Allegra Hoffmann, CC Leahy, Clare Page, Evie Surman, Flora Wells)
Second place finishers:
IMPROV Middle School level
The SuperSonic Six – 8th grade (Kai Abbett, Laurel Mahoney, Jack Potter, Sophia Tate, Luke Theberge, and Sam Thompson)
Third place finishers:
STRUCTURAL Elementary level
The Flaming Pizzas – 3rd grade (Abraham Klein, Eli Littlefield, Hope Littlefield)
For more information about DI, visit www.destinationimagination.org or www.madikids.org. As the program continues to grow, DSDI is always looking for more community involvement. To become involved in DSDI as a volunteer, contact Megan Abbett at abbettkm@msn.com.
