Three Montgomery ISD Destination Imagination teams advance to state for their creative success

March 4, 2022 ~ Montgomery ISD ~ Leave a comment

After months of collaboration, research and using their creative ideas to problem solve, three Montgomery ISD Destination Imagination (DI) teams are traveling to the state DI competition in Arlington, Texas on March 26.

Oak Hills JH sponsor Wendy Jebousek represented two teams at the Regional competition on February 26. The OHJH Scientific Team, The Naked Eyes, competed in the middle level of the Scientific category, challenged with the task of researching the science of microscopy. They were required to create and present a story of a character who encounters a mysterious object while in the microworld, design and build a scenery that brings the microworld to life and design and create a visual effect that enhances the mysterious object. The Naked Eyes earned a High 1C, 1st place in Instant Challenge, as well as receiving the Renaissance Award and placing 1st in the Scientific Category. Advancing to state from Oak Hills JH is Matthew Fitzgerald, Taylor Spier, Aubrie Shahan, Bethany Gordy, Noelle Potee, Aubrey Clevenger and Dillon Hight.

Lincoln ES sponsor Kristen Watkins represented the DonutMessWithUs! DI team, competing in the Fine Arts Challenge, Tricky Tales. The team of students, consisting of seven 3rd, 4th and 5th graders, planned and worked together to create a story about a trickster who attempts to overcome a Tricky Situation. They were required to include a costume transformation that uses technical methods and an illusion, along with two team choice elements and an instant challenge that gets factored into their overall score.

The team placed 1st out of twenty teams in the Southeast 6 Region and one team member, Stephanie Kaaz, received the DaVinci Award, given to a select few individuals in the entire tournament for their unique approach and outstanding creativity.

“I am so proud of their hard work, dedication and perseverance to complete the challenge and score higher than any other team in the region,” Watkins said. “They are already working to prepare for the state tournament!”

DonutMessWithUs! team members advancing to state are Brinly Fuller, Emery Hird, Eli Allen, Stephanie Kaaz, Cecilia Cole, Brianne Creswell and Pierce Welsh.

The Salty Popcorn team from Madeley Ranch Elementary was represented by Laurel Plunk and Robin Riley and competed in the Improv Festival Friendly Challenge. The students were required to research several specific festivals from around the world. After being told which festival was selected for them, the team had 2 minutes to prepare a storyline that has a goal to go along with the facts of that festival, with no props and only 10 random boxes that must be incorporated in the skit. In addition, the team was given a random “fork in the road” to include in their storyline and all of the performance had to be completed within five minutes.

“This team is a dynamite team full of creativity, dedication and friendship to pull off such a feat in a short amount of time,” Plunk said. “This fast-paced challenge always gets our hearts pumping because of their energy level and we never know what they’re going to perform!”

Placing 1st in the Improv category and advancing to state from Madeley Ranch ES are students Hudson Dellafranco, Kyndal Rodriguez, Kamdyn Small, Stella Sudduth and Elisabeth Wernecke.

Congratulations to these three teams and their campus sponsors on a job well done using their preparation skills and creativity.

Montgomery ISD Destination Imagination Teams Impress at Regional and State Competition

April 20, 2021 ~ Kim Foster

As with many events this school year, the Destination Imagination (DI) tournaments were set on a virtual stage this year. Montgomery ISD sent five teams to the regional level of competition. Of those five, four teams advanced to the state competition. In the end, Absolute 7 from Oak Hills Junior High and D.I. oh_My! from Lincoln Elementary earned a spot at globals. A first for MISD.

Destination Imagination is a global educational nonprofit dedicated to inspiring the next generation of innovators, leaders and creative problem solvers. Students form teams of up to seven members. Upon forming their team, a challenge is selected and the team works together to develop a solution. Each team has at least one team manager (often a parent or teacher) tasked with keeping the team on track, but does not assist or interfere with their challenge solution.

“We are proud of the hard work, imagination, and creativity demonstrated by the Destination Imagination teams in MISD,” Director of Special Programs Amy Busby said. “Even though they were presented with unique challenges and new formats due to COVID restrictions, they persevered and had a successful competition season.”

Regional Results:
Flying Potatoes (Lincoln ES) – 2nd place (advanced to State)
The Pixel Racers (Montgomery JH) – 6th place
Absolute 7 (Oak Hills JH) – 2nd place (advanced to State)
D.I.oh_My! (Lincoln ES) – 2nd place and Instant Challenge Award (advanced to State)
Destination Interrogation (Montgomery ES) – 1st place (advanced to State)

State Results:
Flying Potatoes (Lincoln ES) – 11th place
Absolute 7 (Oak Hills JH) – 4th place (advancing to Globals)
D.I. oh_My! (Lincoln ES) – 2nd place (advancing to Globals)
Destination Interrogation (Montgomery ES) – 6th place and Instant Challenge Award

Oak Hills Destination Imagination Team Advances to the Global Competition Making MISD History!

April 19, 2021 ~ OHJH LIONS ~ Leave a comment

This year, Oak Hills Junior High had one Destination Imagination team consisting of: Aubry Clevenger, Dillon Hight, Noelle Potee, Matthew Fitzgerald, Taylor Spier, Kimberly Boyd, Robby Boyd, and managed by teacher, Mrs. Wendy Jebousek.

The team, competing in the Middle Level of the SCIENTIFIC category, was challenged with the task of creating a documentary featuring the story line of a Scientific Law which was broken. The team chose to focus on the Laws of Thermodynamics and spent hours learning about the 3^rd Law of Thermodynamics, Absolute Zero, Perfect Crystals, as well as script writing, various documentary techniques, and editing.

At the Southeast 6 Regional Competition in February, the team placed 2^nd in the Scientific category, qualifying them to advance to state. In April, the team competed in the Lone Star State Finals where they placed 4^th and qualified for the next level. They will now submit their “Team Challenge” and “Fast Flex Challenge” at the Destination Imagination Global competition in late June against teams from the United States and 13 other countries. This is the first time MISD has had a team advance to Globals!