Successful Symmes students sent to Kansas City

Hundreds of creative-minded youth gathered at D’Arcy McGee High School on February 28, as the school hosted the ninth edition of Destination Imagination (DI).

Organized by the Western Quebec School Board (WQSB), the event consisted of a friendly competition where teams of students from the region used creativity, science and leadership to win the most points with hopes of clinching a spot in the DI Global Finals later this spring.

Featuring students from grades five through eight, the event involved 26 teams representing 15 WQSB schools competing in three separate categories of challenges – scientific, service learning and technical.

While every prize was coveted, the technical challenge – dubbed as ‘The Big Fix’ – held the most significance since it also included a ticket to Kansas City MS to compete in the DI Global Finals in May.

According to DI’s Provincial Affiliate Director, Lisa Diner, teams were graded on a number of criteria, including story structure and relativity to science and technology.

Diner explained that the event typically takes place in the WQSB’s larger institutions on a rotating basis, noting that Philemon Wright High School hosted it last year.

Since the WQSB is the only school board in the province that participates in DI, organizers have dubbed the competition’s winners as champions of Quebec, Diner said.

Diner noted that other school boards should also get involved with DI, considering the substantial benefits it provides for the participating students.

“We use the scientific and technical challenges to support [WQSB’s] science curriculum,” she said. “It’s a win-win situation for everybody.”

“Problem solving, troubleshooting, these are the skills that Industry Canada is asking for,” she added. “Our curriculum can’t do it all. DI certainly supports all of that.”

After a full day of activities, Pontiac MNA André Fortin and MP Will Amos were on hand for the closing ceremony to congratulate the participants and hand out medals to award recipients.

When it was all said and done, The Exploding Yellow Doors DI team from Symmes Middle School walked away with the top prize in the technical challenge along with a golden ticket to the DI Global Finals in Kansas City.

Scheduled at the end of May, the Global Finals will feature around 15,000 students from all over the world vying for creative supremacy, Diner said.