The Fund-A-Need auction at the 2015 Gala focused on three main programs. Those programs were the Teacher Led Program implementation, Destination Imagination, and the partial funding of our Intervention
Specialist. This is an update on the Destination Imagination Program implementation.
Destination Imagination
The Destination Imagination Program has grown exponentially this year. For elementary students, this program is still being held as an after school enrichment class. We have 4 teams (up from one last year) spanning 2nd through 5th grades and including 23 students! Two of these teams have
chosen the Fine Arts Challenge: Get a Clue, and the other two teams have chosen the Science Challenge: In Plain Sight. Information on the challenges can be found here.
We also have ten students on two middle school teams (6-8th grade) competing this year (up from one last year). One team has chosen the Fine Arts Challenge: Get a Clue, and the other has chosen the Technical Challenge: Pace of Change. The middle school program is being held during elective class time and is led by 7th grade teacher, Justine Rigali.
The Regional Tournament for the Central Coast DI Region will be held at Arroyo Grande High School on Saturday, February 27, 2016, from 8am to 5pm. We are still in need of Appraisers for this event. An Appraiser in DI is similar to a judge. The teams challenge solutions must be scored according to the Challenge Score Guide. Teams may not compete if they do not supply a trained Appraiser for the Tournament Event. If you have the time and want to see these students in action, this is a wonderful opportunity! Please contact Jill Ogorsolka, our Destination Imagination Team Coordinator for details (jill@aacacademy.com).
In addition to the teams competing in the Destination Imagination Challenge Program, we have also started Instant Challenge Fridays. These are school-wide challenges that are held in each classroom on the
first Friday of the month and are a way for each student to have the opportunity get a taste for the Destination Imagination Program, practice their STEAM skills (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math), and get some practice in problem solving and teamwork. Points are awarded to teams according to the challenge guidelines for completing the challenge, creativity of challenge solution, and how well your team works together.
Instant Challenges Completed to Date:
- Paper Tower Challenge (build a tower as high as you can using only 20 sheets of paper)
- Will It Stick? Challenge (build a tower as tall as you can on a board that will stick to the board when it is turned upside down)
- Ice Cream Treats Challenge (create 3 new ice cream flavors and present a performance about what happens to people when they try the new flavors) DI DI O Challenge (create 3 new animals and their sounds, make-up a song, and perform the song)
The 1st Annual AACA Instant Challenge Day is scheduled for Wednesday, March 9, 2016. Each classroom will conduct an Instant Challenge. The winning team from each classroom will go on to compete with other teams from their grade level teams (i.e. kinder through 1st grades will compete with each other). Then each grade level team winner will compete against the other grade level victors until we have an ultimate Instant Challenge Team! The teachers and the 2016 DI Team Managers will also be competing in an Instant Challenge and the DI Teams competing in the State Tournament will present their challenge solutions. If you would like to come and watch or help run an instant challenge this day, please contact Amy Baker or Jill Ogorsolka and we will get you on the list! It is amazing to see the students’ creativity.
The funds raised from the Fund-A-Need for Destination Imagination ($6,000.00) have so far gone to:
- Purchasing 6 Team Numbers – This is how each team gets their challenge materials and official Team Number, which is needed to compete, $944.95.
- Registration for the Regional Tournament February 27, 2016 for 6 AACA Teams: $600
- Instant Challenge Book and Challenge Solution Supplies (so far 2015-2016 school year): $206.28
- Upcoming Expenditures: Teams are currently submitting their supply lists to their team managers. These are the materials they need to build their sets, create their costumes, and construct anything else that the challenge specifies. All teams that qualify for the State Competition will need to register for that tournament, which will be held in Riverside on Saturday, April 2, 2016. The registration fee per team will be around $150.00.Travel expenses for teams traveling to the State Tournament in Riverside. We hope to cover the lodging expenses for all the teams’ members, chaperones, and appraisers that travel to Riverside. All remaining funds will go towards travel expenses.
Thank you for your support of this amazing program. It is great for any student that wishes to participate to be able to without the parents having to worry whether they are able to afford the registration and travel expenses. We highly encourage you to please come and watch on Instant Challenge Day or to sign-up to be an Appraiser for the Regional Tournament on Saturday, February 27.
