By Peter Day
Lucerne Valley’s Destination Imagination teams were congratulated for their impressive accomplishments in during 2018-19 by the school district’s five-member governing board and a standing-room-only crowd of supporters last Thursday night.
Longtime board member Tom Courtney, who attended the April 6 tournament in Clovis, expressed pride in the four teams, one of which is managed by his daughter, LVES Booster Club President Sarah Courtney.
“We’re so proud of you,” Courtney said.
This year, Lucerne Valley fielded four Destination Imagination teams. The middle school team, [DIDAR]2, which won the “Medical Mystery” challenge at regionals, placed 10th in their state competition. The elementary school’s DI program, which is led by first grade teacher Marina Chicca-Wilding, had Chicca-Wilding’s Imaginary Creatures 2.0H tie for 9th place in their competition in Clovis, the Sarah Courtney-managed Flying Foxes, which took 14th place in Elementary-level “Medical Mystery” at state, and the DI Galaxy Explorers, managed by LVES Booster Club officer Joei Miller.
During a brief question and answer period, students talked about their favorite memories at DI state competition. One competitor said he liked building the props and using a drone. Others cited the learning process, all agreed it was a memorable experience. Destination Imagination helps bring to life Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) to life through student created performances.
Afterward, LVES teacher Marilyn Stafford and grandmother of one of the Imaginary Creatures team members, handed out colorful bouquets of flowers to each of the four team managers. “The coordinators work endlessly, tirelessly,” Stafford said. “They deserve more credit.”
It was a big week for the DI squads. Not only did the three teams come back from state competition, but middle school DI team presented their competition performance during a barbecue Wednesday at Lucerne Valley Middle High School hosted by Mitsubishi Cement Corporation Educational Foundation.
But the Lucerne Valley DI teams certainly aren’t done yet.
“We’re bound and determined to make it to Globals,” [DIDAR] 2 team leader Vickie Kessler said.
[DIDAR]2 consists of 7th-graders Kylee Lambert, Wyatt Perry, Kevin Angeles, Evan Herriman and Emilia Daniels. The pioneering DIDAR team has been together the the longest. Kevin, Kylee and Wyatt all have participated in the program for five years, Evan has been involved for four and Emilia joined two years ago.
Imaginary Creatures 2. OH consists of students Telina Chicca, Irvan Angeles, Alexis Hale, Evelynn Stafford and Victoria Enright.
The Flying Foxes consists of team members Jonah Morena, Colton Reichow, Kyleigh Rodriguez and Maci Heilman.
The DI Galaxy Explorers consist of students Jonathan Gonzales, Eileen Surri Davalos, Faith Hernandez, Evan Lambert and Alexia Kennedy.
Destination Imagination, which was founded in 1999, seeks to engage participating students in project-based challenges designed to develop creativity, critical thinking, communication and teamwork skills. DI encourages students to have fun exploring Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) concepts with hands-on, student-generated, problem-solving projects.
The DI Global Finals will be May 22-25 in Kansas City, Missouri. More than 8,000 DI students are expected to gather for the competition.
The DI Global Finals will be May 22-25 in Kansas City, Missouri. More than 8,000 DI students are expected to gather for the competition.