Destination Imagination from SCS Goes Global!
On Saturday, April 17th, four teams from Sheboygan Christian School participated in the Destination Imagination (commonly known as “DI,” or formerly known as “Odyssey of the Mind,” or “OM”) state championship tournament at UW-Stevens Point, participating in a DIrect DIposit or DiBot performance, and Instant Challenges. Congratulations to all of the students and team managers who worked so hard all year to make the DI program such a great success: 1) Elementary DIrect DIposit team Britta Solle, Kristi Hendricks, Lindsey Navis, Brett Steenwyk, Caleb Rahn, Isaiah Richardson, 2) Middle School DIrect DIposit team Brock Ringel, Andrew Kowitz, Nabeal Corrigan, Chloe Navis, Denny Kanz, Naomi Rahn, Walter Holtrop, 3) Elementary DiBot team Hannah Hendrikse, Deena Black, Ally Walsh, Lauren TenDolle, Ben Kisow, Tanner Kowitz, Nat Werth, and 4) Middle School DiBot team Nick Steenwyk, Austin Black, Sam Kisow, Michaela Tempas, Hanna Stolper, and Micah Adams. Team Managers Gary and Lori Stolper, Summar Corrigan, Erin Kanz, Tamara Walsh, Kim Werth, Heidi Rahn and Ann Steenwyk.
During the Saturday, April 17th state competition, the SCS Elementary DIrect DIposit team won first place at the state championship for their division, performing a “DIrect DIposit” Central Challenge. They also received the “Renaissance Award” for technical and engineering excellence. They qualified to compete at the Global Finals competition in Knoxville, Tennessee, May 26th through May 29th! There they will compete with 1,000 teams from over 30 countries around the world! The six students on the team are 4th Graders Caleb Rahn, Brett Steenwyk and Lindsey Navis, and 5th Graders Britta Solle, Kristi Hendricks and Isaiah Richardson. The team managers are Heidi Rahn and Ann Steenwyk. It is an amazing blessing and we are so incredibly proud of the entire team’s efforts and problem solving ability!
What is “Global Finals?”
Global Finals is the culminating 4-day celebration and competition for DI each school year. In addition to once again performing their DIrect DIposit challenge and an Instant Challenge, they will have many other opportunities to meet and interact with children their age from around the world. Some of the other events that the team will participate in are the Opening Ceremony and the Closing Ceremony, where all teams from around the world open and close the event at the Thompson-Boling Arena at the University of Tennessee. They will also participate in the International Ambassador program, Instant Challenge camps, and numerous opportunities to trade pins with other competitors around the world. Most importantly, Global Finals is the climatic celebration of the process the students mastered through creativity, problem solving, and team work.
God’s Faithfulness
The team has come a long way from their first days together in Fall 2009. At first, the “I don’t knows” and “how does this work” were more prevalent than the later “hey, we can do this,” or “we can we solve this.” Needless to say, lots of learning, practicing and fun happened along the way! Through the process, the team learned from their mistakes, learned how to work together to incorporate everyone’s ideas, and became confident that they could do it by themselves, without input and ideas from others.
What is a “DIrect DIposit?”
So you might be wondering, what exactly is “DIrect DIposit?” The team was required to design a “tool” that would allow them to deliver “objects” from one side of a 10 foot long by 6 foot high barrier to the other, without looking over the barrier, and without directly communicating with other team mates. The team was required to deliver objects into 5 targets, which were placed on random intersections on an 8 foot by 6 foot grid. In addition, during the delivery, they also were required to tell a story through the performance of a skit that demonstrated decision making and “risk and reward.” They created a skit about what it meant to be a missionary in the devastated country of Haiti, and they described the risks and rewards of choosing to do so. The “tool,” or as they call it, “the crane,” is shown in the picture below. It was designed to deliver objects by way of forced air. The team showcased their creativity and talents by performing an authentic “Haitian” dance as part of their 6-minute performance/delivery. They researched the dance so that it would be authentic, and then learned with help from a dance choreographer from Sheboygan. The “targets” were clay homes that they created themselves in a ceramic studio, and the “objects” that they “delivered” to the Haitian homes were plastic-wrapped dried beans. It should be noted that the teams must solve the challenge and develop their entire program without adult interference, input, or coaching, including the design of the delivery mechanism. Adults are allowed to provide problem solving tools and safety, but are not allowed to provide any ideas, give input, or solve any problems. The entire set-up is shown in the picture below.
The team worked very hard to achieve an amazing performance that topped any other performance in the state in their age and category. God really blessed this team along the way, and the children honored and glorified Him during their state championship performance. The students were bold in their “risk and reward” message. They boldly chose to involve their faith in the performance. When the team managers heard them talk about using a Christian/mission theme, they discussed the risk of this being presented in a secular climate. It was a risk, yet they had so much boldness and faith! God blessed them greatly! He is pleased!!
In preparation for the culminating May event, the team will need to raise all of the funds needed to attend and participate in Global Finals, including the costs associated with team member registration, room and meals, and travel to/from Knoxville. If you are interested in providing financial support, please contact the Sheboygan Christian School office at 457-3060.
