After sending five teams to the Destination Imagination Global Competition held May 23-26 at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, St. Joseph School’s middle school team came back with first place win in every category out of 1,275 teams around the world that competed.
‘The team of seventh and eighth graders, named the Super Sassy Silly Sixth Sense, earned an incredible and very rare first place sweep of every award in their challenge (instant, central, and team choice), tallying a perfect overall score of 400 points,? said Coach Tom Eisbrenner. ‘The team competed in ‘Coming Attractions,? the fine arts challenge that had teams present a live movie trailer involving characters from at least two nations, design a working cinematic special effect, and create an original soundtrack that complemented the trailer.?
In addition, the team also received a rare and special Renaissance Award for its attention to detail and outstanding performance. The nomination note from the judges reads:
‘This team knocked the appraisers? socks off by presenting a Movie Trailer that went above and beyond and utilized an extraordinary level of detail. A working medicine cabinet with a vast array of team created nail polish (our favorite was ‘Twilight Sparkle?), a pulley system that allowed them to quickly and efficiently change backdrops, a collapsing building, a loom actually used to weave, and the design and construction of their set pieces highlighted this teams? ability to bring their Movie Trailer to life, leaving the audience wanting to watch their feature presentation. The professionalism this team brought to all aspects of their performance overwhelmingly raised their work to an award winning level ? this Renaissance award today, and an Oscar in the future.?
The Super Sassy Silly Sixth Sense team consists of Gretchen Altenberger, McKenna Carron, Molly Galvin, Lauren Miller, Rachel Warstler and Taylor Warstler, and the managers are Tom and Jeri Altenberger.
‘This marks the eighth year in a row at least one St. Joseph School team earned the chance to compete at the Global Finals,? Eisbrenner said. ‘This year, the school had an unprecedented five teams qualify for the global competition; no other school, organization or district in the state had this many teams move on to the global level.?
Another St. Joseph middle school team, called The Boot Brigade, earned a Top 10 finish, earning eighth place in the world in the Project Outreach challenge.
‘Project Outreach asks teams to use creative problem solving tools to identify and select at least one real community need; design and carry out a project to address the need; create marketing tools; and share the results at the tournament with an entertaining live presentation,? Eisbrenner said.
The Team members include Sarah Falkowski, Joy Fullerton, Michael Ignagni, Ricky Johnson and Olivia Packard.
Destination ImagiNation (DI) is an extraordinary program in which students work in teams of up to 7 students to solve mind-bending, complex challenges centered on creativity, problem solving, collaboration and thinking way, way outside the box. Participants research and use elements of science, culture, technology, performance, community service, engineering and more to create their solutions, all without the interference of meddling adults.
Even though the tournament is over, the teams are still working to raise funds towards their goal of $25,000 ($665 per student) to attend the global competition. The teams also are asking for corporate or personal tax-deductible pledges, which can be submitted online at https://stjosephlakeorion.ejoinme.org/supportdi, or sent to St. Joseph School, ATTN: Destination Imagination, at 703 N. Lapeer Rd., Lake Orion, MI 48362, or by calling 248-693-6215.