Students get imaginative at competition
The Possible Num Nums before their talent show that raised funds for the Humane Society
(CNS): Three schools participated in the second annual Destination Imagination (DI) tournament, held Saturday, 16 April 2016, at Cayman International School (CIS). The Cayman Islands has more 100 students, ranging from kindergarten to year 12, experiencing the DI programme. Destination Imagination is a leading, educational nonprofit dedicated to teaching students the skills needed to succeed in school, their careers and beyond.
John Gray High School, Triple C and CIS took part in this year’s event, which was divided into two components, an instant challenge that took six minutes to complete, and a central challenge that required two to three months of planning and building that was then displayed during the tournament.
Eight teams presented their solutions to different challenges during the event.
Students work in teams to research, design and build a solution to their preferred challenge. The areas of focus for the challenges this year comprised technical, scientific, fine arts, improvisational, structural and service learning. There was also a non-competitive early-learning challenge that allowed participants to build social and problem-solving skills. In solving a challenge, they learned the creative process that helps them to assess problems, reflect on their progress, learn from failures, and turn their original ideas into reality.
A challenge for one of the teams, the Swagalicious Six, was to create a vehicle that would travel 40 times across the stage during an eight-minute skit. The vehicle needed to have two different propulsion systems and two different movement methods. The team spent a lot of time researching the things needed to complete this challenge. They visited Arch Automotive where they were allowed to explore a replica of a NASCAR racecar and learned the intricacies of what it takes to get a vehicle moving.
Other teams, Cayman Kids of Kindness and Possible Num Nums, had a service learning challenge that allowed them to look into the community and identify a need they could help with. Cayman Kids of Kindness held a book drive that was aimed at improving literacy in the Cayman Islands, and distributed the books to the Cayman Islands Hospital paediatric ward, Frances Bodden Childrens Home and the Meals on Wheels after-school programme. The Possible Num Nums held a talent show that featured parents, students and even pets. The money raised was donated to the Cayman Islands Humane Society.
Krista Finch, CIS teacher and DI affiliate growth director in the Cayman Islands, said, “It was wonderful to see how [the students’] communication, cooperation, creativity and teamwork improved over the past year.”
Five Cayman teams will attend the finals in Knoxville, Tennessee, from 24-28 May, four from CIS and one from Triple C.
Category: Schools
