Fifteen Lake County Destination ImagiNation® Teams Advance to Global Finals
If the well-being of Lake County depends on the throng of 4-to 18-year-old students amassed at Caruso Middle School in Deerfield last Saturday for the Destination ImagiNation state finals, then the future looks bright indeed. Half of the llinois Team advancing to global competition is from Lake County - seven come from Waukegan area schools.
Waukegan, IL, April 26, 2009 --(PR.com)-- Imagination and creativity have earned 15 Lake County Destination ImagiNation (DI) teams, including seven from the Waukegan area, trips to the competition’s Global Finals following their performances at the state meet in Deerfield, Ill., on April 20. They will be among 30 teams from Illinois headed to DI Global Finals Competition at the University of Tennessee May 20-23. The program is for students in kindergarten through 12th grade.
The global competition will showcase the creative, critical thinking, teamwork, time management and problem-solving talents of more than 1,000 teams from across the United States, Canada, Mexico and 20 other countries. The teams first demonstrated their creativity and problem-solving skills at a regional tournament held in Waukegan on March 7. The highest-scoring teams advanced to the state competition.
“It’s truly amazing what these kids accomplished,” said Michelle Crombie, who, along with her husband, Bob, coached and mentored two of the wining Waukegan groups in the “Operation Cooperation” challenge. “The solutions that they come up with are mind-boggling and they come up with them on their own. The team managers can ask questions, but we can’t give them ideas.”
Students form teams of up to seven students and work for 12 to 15 weeks to solve one of five challenges, selected based on the interests of the team members. The setup of the challenges is open-ended, allowing for an endless variety of solutions. Each of the challenges offers a different focus, such as mathematics, engineering, technical design and construction, experimentation, theater arts, social studies, research, story development, architecture, geography, structural engineering and other disciplines requiring critical thinking skills essential to success in tomorrow’s world.
“When it comes to kids and competition, we usually think of sporting events and celebrating their athletic endeavors,” said Diana Baldi, regional director for Illinois Destination ImagiNation’s Chicago region. “It’s pretty unique when we do the same thing for science, technology, engineering, theater, music or just plain fun. Last year, Caruso Middle School in Deerfield placed first in the world in their category, beating out 81 other teams in their level of competition.”
The Waukegan teams are now raising funds and seeking sponsors to help fund registration, airfare, accommodations and meals for their trip – they will need about $1,000 per student to be able to attend the competition. Teams from Little Fort Elementary and Jefferson Middle School will be holding a multi-family rummage sale in Wesley Church’s multi-purpose room all day Friday and Saturday, May 15-16. Food, candy, drinks and bake sale items will also be available. Wesley Church is located at 3601 North Lewis Avenue in Waukegan.
Anyone wishing to donate to the teams may do so through the Little Fort PTO Foundation or by contacting Diana Baldi at 847-682-4093. All contributions are tax deductible.
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The global competition will showcase the creative, critical thinking, teamwork, time management and problem-solving talents of more than 1,000 teams from across the United States, Canada, Mexico and 20 other countries. The teams first demonstrated their creativity and problem-solving skills at a regional tournament held in Waukegan on March 7. The highest-scoring teams advanced to the state competition.
“It’s truly amazing what these kids accomplished,” said Michelle Crombie, who, along with her husband, Bob, coached and mentored two of the wining Waukegan groups in the “Operation Cooperation” challenge. “The solutions that they come up with are mind-boggling and they come up with them on their own. The team managers can ask questions, but we can’t give them ideas.”
Students form teams of up to seven students and work for 12 to 15 weeks to solve one of five challenges, selected based on the interests of the team members. The setup of the challenges is open-ended, allowing for an endless variety of solutions. Each of the challenges offers a different focus, such as mathematics, engineering, technical design and construction, experimentation, theater arts, social studies, research, story development, architecture, geography, structural engineering and other disciplines requiring critical thinking skills essential to success in tomorrow’s world.
“When it comes to kids and competition, we usually think of sporting events and celebrating their athletic endeavors,” said Diana Baldi, regional director for Illinois Destination ImagiNation’s Chicago region. “It’s pretty unique when we do the same thing for science, technology, engineering, theater, music or just plain fun. Last year, Caruso Middle School in Deerfield placed first in the world in their category, beating out 81 other teams in their level of competition.”
The Waukegan teams are now raising funds and seeking sponsors to help fund registration, airfare, accommodations and meals for their trip – they will need about $1,000 per student to be able to attend the competition. Teams from Little Fort Elementary and Jefferson Middle School will be holding a multi-family rummage sale in Wesley Church’s multi-purpose room all day Friday and Saturday, May 15-16. Food, candy, drinks and bake sale items will also be available. Wesley Church is located at 3601 North Lewis Avenue in Waukegan.
Anyone wishing to donate to the teams may do so through the Little Fort PTO Foundation or by contacting Diana Baldi at 847-682-4093. All contributions are tax deductible.
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Contact
Waukegan DI
Jerreau Beaudoin
847-643-3011
Jerreau Beaudoin
847-643-3011
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