Destination IMAGINATION!

Beatrix has wanted to do Destination Imagination (basically, problem solving a STEM issue through a student-created performance) for years; this year, Randolph Heights added a 4th/5th grade team, coached by her friend Tillie's dad, Dane, and she was SO excited to do it!

It's an all-girls team, and they have worked really hard to prepare. As well as meeting for 90 minutes weekly, they've had a lot of extra practices recently, which has been hard since not everyone attended. And they lost one member of their team the day before the competition due to emergency surgery!

We had to be at Harding High School early yesterday for the competition, and Beatrix was super nervous:



There were A LOT of kids there!

They had one of the first performances, in the freezing field house. A DI organizer helped them get everything in place, but they were responsible for set up. They then ran their piece, which they had come up with together. They also designed and built the set (which had to be quick to put up and take down) together, and I think the brain hats were a great touch!



After the piece, the judges came up to ask them some questions about what they had learned:



They seemed to do a great job explaining it. To be honest, their scores were not too outstanding, but I was SO impressed that they got up and did it, for the first time, and that they worked together to pull it off. I was especially impressed by all the good things that Beatrix had to say about her teammates.

The judges also had some helpful comments, which were really appreciated:


They got to wander around for awhile, talk to the other kids, and watch some other performances — which I think they found both helpful and intimidating.

In the afternoon, they had their instant challenge. Apparently they can't say anything about it on pain of death, and they were down one more girl because she had to leave. But if I interpret their score correctly they did well.

All in all, they came in 10 out of 15 in the challenge, which I think was fantastic, given the challenges. It's a lot harder than it seems, and so much work, from the girls and the coach, went into it. I think it was an enormous learning experience for Beatrix.

As I said earlier, there were a lot of East Metro schools there. Rosemount/Apple Valley/Eagan had many teams; Randolph Heights had six, and there were also teams that we saw from JJ Hill, Expo, Chelsea Heights, Highland Elementary, and Saint Anthony Park. But one thing that made me sad was there was no presence from many other district schools — Maxfield, Obama, Johnson, Hamline, Galtier, Wellstone, Benjamin Mays ... the list goes on. And I really don't know why that is. Is DI not on the radar at other schools? (it's a BIG thing at Randolph Heights). Is it hard to find someone to coach (I would assume so, we were lucky to get Dane to sign on). Are entrance fees and such a non-started? (maybe)

All I know is that Beatrix has learned a lot this year in school. But she has learned perhaps even more in the "extras" — from Continental Math and Shakespeare in her G&T pull-out, from Spanish before school, and from DI. I would imagine that the kids in lego league and other events feel the same way, and I think it may be a way to engage kids who might not succeed in standard ways. But I am stymied as to how to get it as a more uniform option across the district.

In the meantime, look out next year! The "Crafty Creators" learned a ton, and next year they are excited to put it all into play!

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