Sunday, September 28, 2008

Destination ImagiNation urges DI teams to TAKE CHARGE!

Destination ImagiNation is giving teams the opportunity to Take Charge! in school communities around the world. Students everywhere need to increase the amount of healthy food they consume and the amount of physical activity in their daily lives. This problem has been well documented by nutrition and fitness experts.
Destination ImagiNation has asked teams of middle and high school students to Take Charge! and design a project in a school community that will address these two areas of deficiency.
Teams may have assistance researching the problems and implementing the project they choose to do, but when it comes to the tournament phase, the rules of non-interference apply as in the other DI challenges. There are a number of free national memberships available to teams that
choose to take on this challenge. Contact me for more information.
The other element of this challenge that differs from the other challenges is that there is no team to team competion. Your team will be competing against the challenge and will be scored by appraisers who will judge how well your team met the requirements of the challenge. All of the teams that are appraised to be in the 85% to 100% level will advance to the next level of competion. In Indiana the Take Charge! challenge will be offered only at the affiliate tournament in April.
Take Charge! has four tournament components. The Portfolio documents your team's community service project and the results of the project. This document could be used as a written report to meet service learning requirements at your school. The next part of the tournament portion of Take Charge is the Exhibit. This element will showcase your teams project using graphic and visual elements. The Exhibit is both for public viewing and will also be part of the team's 6 minute presentation. The Presentation will be a way for the teams to use theatrical methods to show the appraisers the project and its impact. The final part of the tournament portion of Take Charge is the Simulation. The simulation corresponds to the Instant Challenge component of the other team challenges. In the simulation, the team will role play their reaction and planning process if they were to be presented with a real-life problem to solve. They will be able to showcase the skills they learned as they worked for a solution to the Take Charge! challenge.
Each of the four components, Portfolio, Exhibit, Presentation, and Simulation are each worth a total of 100 points. Teams need to score in the 85% to 100% range to move on to Global Finals in Knoxville.
I am hoping that middle and high school teams will take advantage of the the free membership offer and choose to solve the project Outreach Take Charge! challenge.
Take a chance. Mobilize your peers. Make a difference. Take Charge!

Monday, March 24, 2008

Anonymous Comments

I have had a few anonymous comments about the post encouraging you to contact your congressman to honor Destination ImagiNation for 25 years of creative problem solving.

Here is how DI can celebrate its 25th anniversary. OM association was the not-for-profit entity of Oddysey of the Mind. Odyssey started in 1979 but it was not a NON PROFIT at that time - the parent company was CCL –it is what made the merchandize, the challenges etc. and kept the profits. OM Inc became a United States Non Profit in 1982 or 83 ( not sure how they are counting) . But CCL continued to make everything and then sell it to the Non profit (and kept the profits as any business does)

When the split occurred in 1999 - Odyssey kept the for Profit company CCL DI kept OM Inc - the non profit – our EIN number has never changed. The only thing that changed is the name from OM Inc. to DI Inc. but it is the same nonprofit incorporation.

I know that most of you that read this blog aren't interested in the history, but if the individuals that were sending anonymous comments care to know.....here is the truth.

Friday, March 21, 2008

House Resolution 1058 US House of Representatives

TIME FOR ACTION IS NOW!
GET DESTINATION IMAGINATION RECOGNIZED
SUPPORT HOUSE RESOLUTION 1058


This past week, U.S. Rep. Mike Ross of Arkansas introduced a resolution in the U.S. House of Representatives that recognizes the positive effects Destination ImagiNation has had on everyone who has taken part in DI programs over the past 25 years.

It is a HUGE accomplishment for DI just to get the resolution introduced. It will be quite something else to get it passed in Congress!

There is only one way we will make that happen – if every DI participant contacts their Congressman to ask him or her to be a cosponsor of House Resolution (H.Res) 1058.

Please take a few minutes to call, email or write to your Congressman. The message is simple, Please COSPONSOR and pass H.Res. 1058.

If you don’t know who your Congressman is or how to contact them, you can start by entering your zip+4 in the upper corner of www.house.gov. If you need to look up your zip+4, use the website http://zip4.usps.com/zip4/welcome.jsp.

You will find through the www.house.gov website a link to your Congressman’s website. That site will often include a form to send an email, an email address or a phone number to the Congressman’s local and Washington, DC offices. Contacting the office using any of those methods is fine.


[Below is a draft of the letter you can use to contact your Congressman:]

I am a participant/parent/team manger of the Destination ImagiNation program in ____________
(city/town, state) and I am writing to ask you to cosponsor and pass H.Res. 1058 which recognizes the designation of the week of May 19 as Designation ImagiNation Week.

Destination ImagiNation Inc. (DI), a 501(c)(3), is the world's largest creativity, teamwork and problem solving program with approximately 250,000 participants and 35,000 volunteers from 50 States and over 40 countries.

DI will hold its annual Global Finals Competition May 21-24, 2008 bringing some 18,000 participants and volunteers together from around the world at the University of Tennessee.

Destination ImagiNation is a community-based, school-friendly program dedicated to promoting critical life skills of critical thinking, teamwork, time management and problem solving. It gives children ranging in age from 4 through college a place to learn how to apply their individual knowledge and skills to solve challenges as they work cooperatively within a team, pushing the limits of their imaginations.

DI provides a positive and friendly environment for participants to explore their own unlimited creativity and to take creative risks in competition with themselves, rather than with others. The organization was developed by parents, teachers, team managers (people who coach teams),appraisers (people who evaluate team solutions), regional directors, affiliate directors, and others who have the desire to help create the best possible, creative, problem-solving program for teams of up to 7 students.

The Resolution acknowledges that this year marks the 25th anniversary of Destination ImagiNation's problem solving programs, and that Destination ImagiNation has operated as a nonprofit volunteer driven organization providing some 5,000,000 students with the skills needed to be successful.

For more information, please visit www.destinationimagination.org.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Monday, March 17, 2008

Suggestions for the Tournament

Thanks to the anonymous person who commented on the pin auction. We do not want adults to get aggressive in these type of events by any means. I don't know if this type of auction will be repeated because that was the end of my pin collection! If we do decide to do such an auction in the future, I would gladly accept suggestions of a better way to handle it. Especially helpful would be a volunteer that would be willing to host and manage the event.

Sunday, March 16, 2008

Thank You! Thank You! Thank You! (Tournament Results)

Thank you to all of the people that made yesterday possible. I saw so many people that went beyond the call of duty to make the day special for the teams, parents, managers and appraisers. Thank you to Joe and Nancy Sinnott for helping us with the set up on Friday night,for working so hard at the souvenir table, and just being there for me when I had questions. Thank you to the Discovery PTO for providing food for ALL THOSE PEOPLE (they ran out of food and had to run for more!) Thank you to the volunteer that spent several extra hours working at the souvenir table. Thank you to all of the volunteers that came up to me and said "What I can do to help?" Thank you to the parents who looked so proud as they watched the teams perform in the challenge sites. Thanks to the appraisers who worked a long day and traveled such a long distance with smiles on their faces. Thank you to the appraisers who had to make tough unpopular decisions.

I will try to get the actual scores posted as soon a possible. I have to get some technical help, but I have figured out how to post the results so you can see the placing.



Destination ImagiNation Tournament Results

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Destination ImagiNation congratulates all the students who participated in the Northern Indiana tournament. We think you are all winners!

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A: Obstacles, Of Course!
A: Obstacles, Of Course!, Elementary Level
Rank Name Town Team Num
1 St. Joseph Central 115-67266
2 St. John the Baptist 115-05052
3 Weisser Park 115-32628
4 Central Noble 115-12350

A: Obstacles, Of Course!, Middle Level
Rank Name Town Team Num
1 Sharp Creek 115-36016

A: Obstacles, Of Course!, Secondary Level
Rank Name Town Team Num
1 Churubusco 115-10059

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B: Hit or Myth
B: Hit or Myth, Elementary Level
Rank Name Town Team Num
1 Eastern Elementary 115-58604
2 Churubusco 115-52856
3 St Jude School 115-01038
4 Central Noble 115-14594
5 St. Joseph Central 115-62464
Fairfield Elementary 115-82845
Frontier Falcons 115-45731
Sharp Creek 115-65409

B: Hit or Myth, Middle Level
Rank Name Town Team Num
1 St Jude School 115-85065
2 Churubusco 115-43909
3 Frontier Falcons 115-34922

B: Hit or Myth, Secondary Level
Rank Name Town Team Num
1 Triton Jr. Sr. High 115-82328
2 Central Noble 115-33656

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C: DI've Got a Secret!
C: DI've Got a Secret!, Elementary Level
Rank Name Town Team Num
1 Central Noble 115-44122
2 Eastern Elementary 115-84393
3 St. Joseph Central 115-13613
4 Sharp Creek 115-94620
5 Fairfield Elementary 115-72610
Frontier Falcons 115-49895
Sharp Creek 115-99998
St. Joseph Central 115-98145

C: DI've Got a Secret!, Middle Level
Rank Name Town Team Num
1 Discovery Middle 115-54063
2 Central Noble 115-72529
3 Frontier Falcons 115-61341
4 St. Vincent de Paul 115-41037

C: DI've Got a Secret!, Secondary Level
Rank Name Town Team Num
1 Eastern Jr/Sr H S 115-30150
2 Triton Jr. Sr. High 115-32245
3 Ben Franklin Middle 115-07858

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D: Chorific!
D: Chorific!, Elementary Level
Rank Name Town Team Num
1 Fairfield Elementary 115-57848
2 Churubusco 115-29134
3 Eastern Elementary 115-65859

D: Chorific!, Middle Level
Rank Name Town Team Num
1 Churubusco 115-26227
2 Ben Franklin Middle 115-28043

D: Chorific!, Secondary Level
Rank Name Town Team Num
1 Ben Franklin Middle 115-47015


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Page generated by the Destination ImagiNation scoring program version DI-2008 (Release)-1598R on Sat Mar 15 19:21:33 EDT 2008.

Friday, March 14, 2008

New location for DI've Got a Secret

A team manager alerted me to the fact that I mentioned in the entry yesterday that there would be a different location for the performance of DI've Got a Secret but I didn't specify which room. I don't have a room number to tell you, but there will be maps posted with the location. It will be very close to the other room. I guess that the teacher who uses the FACS was concerned about some equipment in the room.

Don't worry. It will not be difficult to find the new performance site.

Thursday, March 13, 2008

Menu for the Northern DI Tournament

AIR HEADS (ASSORTED) .25 SLIM JIMS .25
RING POPS .50 BLOW POPS .50

SKITTLES 1.00
Original Wildberry Tropical
NERDS ROPE 1.00 TOO TARTS(Assorted) 1.00
XTREMES SOUR 1.00 SOUR PATCH STRAWS 1.00

STARBURST 1.00
Original Tropical
M & M’s 1.00 MILKYWAY 1.00

3 MUSKETEERS 1.00 SNICKERS 1.00


TWIX 1.00 REESE’s PIECES 1.00


REESE’s PB CUP 1.00

SUPER KING PRETZEL 1.00 DRINKS
WITH CHEESE 1.50

COKE 1.25
DIET COKE
CAFFIENE FREE DIET COKE
CHERRY COKE
SPRITE
BARQ’S ROOTBEER
FANTA ORANGE
MINUTE MAID LEMONADE

DASANI WATER 1.25

POWERADE 1.50
FRUIT PUNCH
MOUNTAIN BLAST

COFFEE 1.50
POPCORN 1.00
WITH CHEESE 1.50
HOT DOG 1.00
WITH CHEESE 1.50



Sloppy Joes Sandwich 2.00

Italian Sub Sandwich 3.00

Chips .25

Breakfast Food

Egg Burrito 1.00

Donuts/Bear Claws/Muffins 1.00

Bananas .50














PRICE LIST

HOT DOG 1.00 POPCORN 1.00
WITH CHEESE 1.50 WITH CHEESE 1.50

SUPER KING PRETZEL 1.00
WITH CHEESE 1.50

ALL SOFT DRINKS 1.25 WATER 1.25
COKE, DIET COKE, CAFFIENE FREE DIET COKE,
CHERRY COKE, SPRITE, ROOT BEER, ORANGE, LEMONADE


POWERADE 1.50

CANDY:

.25 SLIM JIMS & AIR HEADS .50 RING POPS & BLOW POPS

1.00
NERD ROPES M & M’s
SKITTLES MILKYWAY
STARBURST 3 MUSKETEER
TOO TARTS REESE’S PEANUT BUTTER CUPS
XTREMES SOUR REESE’S PIECES
SOUR PATCH STRAWS SNICKERS
TWIX

The spacing in this document is off, but you should be able to figure it out. Think of it as a puzzle!