Mantua – The second weekend of March meant more than just the opportunity to spring forward for a group of Crestwood students this year. That’s because 57 students from the Primary, Intermediate and Middle Schools participated in the Destination Imagination Regional Competition at Barberton Middle School that Saturday. Nine teams comprised of students represented the highest participation number since the extracurricular program was introduced to the District five years ago.
Program Organizer and CPS teacher Monica Grebb brought the program to Crestwood Schools. “My son was involved in DI at his school district, and I watched over the years as his team challenged themselves by tackling complex challenges,” she explained. “The team acquired so many life skills; teamwork, patience, creativity, the ability to speak in front of an audience, compromise, perseverance, and the list goes on. They had the opportunity to travel to the state tournament several times and eventually make two trips to the global tournament held in Knoxville, TN.” Grebb continued, “They met children from around the world and presented their solutions, along with the top teams from 49 states and over 15 different countries. I wanted to bring these experiences to the students at Crestwood. It’s a wonderful opportunity for kids who like to think out of the box and be creative,” she added.
Crestwood Primary had two early-learning teams competing this year. The Rising Star teams are made up of students in kindergarten through second grade. The first team, the Cheetahs, was managed by Mrs. Bricker-Thompson, while the Crestwood Creative Rising Stars were co-managed by Mrs. Hirsch and Mrs. Jones. The Cheetahs team members were: Eileen Bricker-Thompson, Ricky Waggoner, River Kasper, Linden McCreight, Albee Schweickert, Sadie Gilles, Brayden Stanley, Liam Stanley, and Alecia Bradley. The Crestwood Creative Rising Stars included Izzy Patton, Preston Hirsch, Landon Mertz, Jacob Hansen, Abbi Divis, Noah Luzuriaga, and Mikayla Glassner. These young DI teams were tasked with creating an original story and make a life-size popup book to go along with it. Both teams received high praise for their ingenuity, creativeness, and teamwork.
Grebb shared that five teams competed at the Intermediate level. Mr. Shelhamer managed team BARGMMS, which had team members Kyle Shelhamer, Magnus Rawlins, Bobby Bradley, Brady Mager, Austin Ayala-Rivera, Bobby Globokar, and Ethan Marshall. This team participated in the scientific challenge of Medical Mystery, which asked teams to research the human body and medical conditions that affect it. The team was then asked to create and present a story about a medical mystery that affects a human character. They were expected to design and build a representation to show the medical mystery and at least one symptom, then present an action or scene that is shown from two or more perspectives at the same time. Their performance earned them an impressive third place finish.
Team Timberwolves, which was managed by Mrs. Henmrock, with assistant Mrs. Rushlander, had team members Lilly Hemrock, Gabriella McClure, Violet Rushlander, Evelyn Lamb, Jeff Hansen, Jackson Mertz, and Jack Patton. This team chose the Fine Arts Challenge of Game On. In this challenge, teams were asked to create and present a story that integrates research of a team-selected game. For their presentation, they needed to create and present a game gizmo that causes an action or event to occur as well as designing and creating a container that goes through a transformation. The team did a great job and finished in 6th place overall.
Two other teams selected The Service Learning Challenge where they had to identify, design, and carry out a project that addresses a need in their community. Once the need was identified, teams were asked to create and theatrically present a story that builds suspense about characters who attempt an escape.Their performance needed to integrate information about the project through clues that help the characters attempt to escape and integrate information about the future of the project. The Cha Cha’s were managed by Mrs. Prijatel with team members Natalie Prijatel, Emma Lyons, Keira Borrell, Charlotte Varkala, Katrina Richards, and Erica Vanas. The team collected donations for Freedom House, an organization that champions civil liberties. They also made dinner for and spent time with homeless veterans. The group’s overall scores earned the team a third-place finish. Mrs. Kuchenbecker’s team, the DI Devils, included Olivia Kuchenbecker, Mia Divis, Katie Lyons, Allie Ailiff, and Adell Zimcosky. They chose to help an animal shelter get dogs adopted, and their efforts earned them a 5th place finish.
Team Thunder Animals co-managed by Mrs. Baynes and Mr. Hankinson, chose the Technical Challenge, On Target. Team members Everett Baynes, Leighton Baynes, Sophia Hankinson, Ryan Goodell, Willow Banfield, and Ethan Slade took on the task of designing and building an aircraft that takes off, flies, and lands. This aircraft was expected to deliver a team-created payload. In addition, the team needed to create and present a story about one or more characters exploring a remote place. As an impressive feat, the team actually wrote their own app to fly their aircraft and have it drop its payload! This very impressive work earned them a third place finish.
At Middle School level, Crestwood entered two teams in this year’s competition. The Chipettes were managed by Mrs. Wallace and included Stella Wallace, Emmy Grebb, and Lilly Kuchenbecker as the team members. They chose the Service Learning project. Their efforts raised money to purchase Life Straws, which filter unsafe drinking water, for the people of Nicaragua. Their efforts earned them a third place finish.
Team Super Spitfritz, managed by Mrs. Sustar and assisted by Mrs Wysong, had team members Chuck Sustar, Grant Wyson, Jonah Kristoff, Ayden Long, and Brenton Mason. They tackled the technical challenge of On Target, and their scores netted them an impressive second place finish!
The regional competition in March is the culmination of a long time commitment for both the kids and the team managers, since teams form and begin the planning process in September. Most teams meet weekly from September until the March tournament date. According to Grebb, every year one or two kids drop out due to the time commitment, but for the most part everyone stays in the program for those six to seven months. “When talking with the kids about their favorite things having to do with DI, many responses include meeting and working with new students, having the chance to be creative, and trying out new ideas,” Grebb shared.
Since DI is child-driven, it keeps them interested and vested. Team managers love watching the team come together and solidified over those months. There are so many wonderful things that managers have reported to me. One manager told me how amazing it was to watch a quiet withdrawn child begin to participate and speak up more in the group. Another commented on the perseverance of the group and how they had to redo their project several times, but they would not give up. It is an great experience to watch happen.
Pam Baynes, who has coached a DI team for four of the five years, shared, “The biggest joy for me as a coach is the DI motto ‘If it doesn’t say you can’t, you can’” Baynes explained, “DI is not about adult ideas. As a coach, I cannot help them. It amazes me to see a team of nine and ten-year-olds come up with a solution that’s way different than any adult could,” she marveled. “It’s fun to be with a group for six months who think outside the box to come up with a solution. While DI is a lot of work and time I wouldn’t change it for the world,” she concluded.
“I have many students return to DI every year,” beamed Grebb. “I have also had some take a year off and then re-group and return a year or two later. And every year, I have more and more kids join us. The biggest obstacle for me is finding managers,” she added. “It is a time commitment, but so incredibly rewarding!”
For more information on Destination Imagination at Crestwood Schools, contact Grebb at mgrebb@crestwoodschools.org.
