Four
Teams Advance to Global Destination ImagiNation!
Finals
April 11, 2005
 Four
Plano ISD teams - three from Hughston Elementary School
(pictured) and one from Jackson Elementary School -
are headed to global finals for the international Destination
ImagiNation! competition. By securing the top spots
for their teams at the April 9 state event, the students
qualified to compete at the global finals to be held
in Knoxville, Tennessee, in late May.
State Event Highlights
Some
285 teams competed from across Texas in the state Destination
ImagiNation! competition held on April 9 in Lubbock.
Of the 18 Plano ISD teams to compete at state, four
are advancing to global finals to be held May 23-29,
2005, in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Hughston
Elementary School set a record for advancing
all three competing teams to global finals. "Never
in my life have I been so proud of my students," said
Lisa Wellborn, Hughston gifted specialist. "Seeing
the tears in their eyes when they heard their team
name called, watching them run up to the stage to receive
their trophies and knowing that this is a memory they
will never forget. It's moments like this that make
everything worthwhile."
 The
Jackson Elementary School team, according to Kitty
Schieck, gifted specialist (all pictured), has
advanced to the global finals for two consecutive years. "One
of the great things about that is they chose a completely
different type of challenge this year, on purpose,
so that they would learn something new," she said.
Winning Teams / Special Awards
In addition to the four Plano ISD teams advancing to the global finals,
several teams captured special awards. Congratulations
to these outstanding students and coaches!
Hughston Elementary School
All three Hughston teams advancing to DI Global Finals!
Sudden SerenDIpity - 3rd Grade
Shelby Johnson
Molly Huser
Zack Conley
Erin Kiel
Lizzie Conley
Corinne Kowald
Billy Tate
Coaches - Jodi Johnson and Mary Conley
Live It's RaDIo DI! - 5th Grade
John Schomburger
Jeremy Deutsch
Jordan Tucker
Kurt Doty
Joshua Luttrell
Tahera Abdulali
Amanda McAdams
Head Coach - John Schomburger
Assistant Coach - Hal Deutsch
Live It's RaDIo DI! - 5th Grade
Jodi Wilson
Rebekah Tate
Bethany Werner
Ian Frees
Ethan Robins
Vishnupriya Somisetty
Samantha Smith
Hailey Wilson
Head Coach - Elaine Tate
Asst. Coach - Aparna Somisetty, Jodi Wilson
Jackson Elementary School
Advancing to Global Finals!
Dizzy Derby – 5th Grade
Travis Brody
Ethan Funkhouser
Tommy Garber
Blake Ligon
Noor Majdi
Garrett McMillan,
Haley Smith
Coach - Dan McMillan
Assistant Team Manager - Brad Funkhouser
Special Awards
The following Plano ISD teams earned coveted awards at the state
competition for "ingenuity
and creativity above and beyond all that
anyone can imagine."
- Hughston Elementary School in Live! It's Radio DI!
Renaissance Award
- Jackson Elementary School in Dizzy Derby
Renaissance Award
- Williams High School in Live! It's
Radio DI!
Spirit
of Discovery and
Imagination Award
- Hendrick Middle School in Live! It's Radio DI!
Renaissance
Award
Top State Scorers
In addition to the top four teams advancing to global finals, these
PISD teams scored within
the top six places at state.
- Schimelpfenig Middle School
Coach: Howard - 5th Place
- Wyatt Elementary School
Coach:
Hewitt - 5th
Place
- Hightower Elementary School
Coach:
Poovey - 5th
Place
- Hendrick Middle School
Coach:
Spangler - 4th Place
- Wells Elementary School
Coach:
Gonzalez - 5th Place
- Rice Middle School
Coach:
Schaper - 3rd Place
- Plano Senior High School
Coaches: Murray & Roelof
- 4th Place
Plano
ISD Regional Destination ImagiNation! Results
About Destination ImagiNation!
DI
is an international organization for kindergarten through
college students that teaches life skills and expands
imaginations through
team-based creative problem solving. Teams of seven
members work together
with the support of a team manager to solve one of
five challenges in a skit format.
 According to Lisa Wellborn, Hughston Elementary School gifted specialist,
"Teams start preparing for competition in early October
and work several hours a week up to the competition
in late February. Great teams make
DI a priority. They work on a quality presentation
and go beyond what's expected of them. Great teams
have coaches/team managers that support their teams
whole-heartedly. They encourage them to think outside
of the box and to
strive for excellence."
DI is divided into two parts, she explained.
One part is the skit. The other part is called Instant
Challenge. This
is where teams must think fast on their feet.
They are given a challenge at the competition
and have to solve it as a team in just a few minutes.
They receive a score for this as well. The
combination of their skit and
their instant challenge gives them a final
score.
"DI is a lot of work, but well worth the time," continued Ms.
Wellborn. "
It teaches students how to work together to solve
a problem, how to be risk takers and how to
perform on stage and not be afraid. It builds confidence
in kids."
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