CHARLOTTE STUDENTS RISE TO THE TOP OF STATE IN ACADEMIC COMPETITION FOUR YEARS IN A ROW

Fourteen Charlotte Middle School sixth and eighth graders will be traveling to Knoxville , Tennessee to represent Charlotte and the state of Michigan in the Global Destination ImagiNation Competition held May 23-30, 2005 .  For the fourth year in a row, Charlotte Public School teams placed top in the state at the State Competition held at Central Michigan University .

These awards are prestigious and a great honor.  It takes months of practice and thinking to come up with a solution that is creative and at the same time, solves the problem presented.

Destination ImagiNation is an international problem solving competition that encourages students to think “out of the box”.  These students have learned leadership, research and team-building skills as well as time management and divergent thinking.  The problems to solve are complex and time consuming.  Meghan Wilkerson, a member of the eighth grade team stated, “D.I. is definitely intriguing.  It is the world to me.  I love it!  It is the only place you can be yourself and no one judges you.  They just accept you for who you are.”

Not only will the teams be competing at the international level, they will have opportunities to meet students from around the world and over the USA .  As one sixth grader Grant Snyder stated, “What I like about D.I. is there is always a good atmosphere.  It is never negative.  You can always count on someone to help you out.”

The two teams competed in two different problems.  The sixth grade team includes Carli Kirkham, Caylee Morris, Grant Snyder, John Kalembkiewicz, Hailee Ridge, Jill Manning, and Janelle Young.  In their problem, IMPROVing Along, they had to research 12 modes of transportation, design a new transportation vehicle and master improvisational skills.  The eighth grade team had to research old time radio broadcasts and create an 8-minute original broadcast that included live sound effects, a commercial, and a cliff-hanger.  The team members are Pete Watson, Nikole Bayly, Meghan Wilkerson, Jacob Roys, Tess Goering, Lauren Kirkham, and Amy Sierawski.  The two teams were coached by volunteers Diane Kirkham and Susan Milligan.

A third Charlotte Public School team rose to the top in the state competition as well.  Galewood Elementary School ’s fourth grade team, coached by volunteers Jay Goering, Laura Roys, and Susan Milligan placed third, receiving a bronze medal.  They were very close contenders for second place and scored more points than any other fourth grade Charlotte School team in recent years.  Members of this team are Cody Cripe, Abigail Manning, Emma Goering, Nicole Templin, Skyler Ashley, Brady Roys, and Allison Neumann.

The Global finalist teams are busy trying to earn funds to support their trip to Tennessee .  It costs over $11,000.00 to register two teams and get them to the competition.  The Charlotte community has been amazing in their support of this endeavor for the past three years.  These students are looking for your support again.  Charlotte students have risen to the top in this and are now known throughout the state as one of the best in academic problem solving.  Diane Kalembkiewicz, a parent said, “It has been a great experience!  My son has grown from it and truly enjoyed meeting kids from all over the world.  As a parent, it is amazing to see the different solutions that are presented for the same problem.” 

Any one wishing to support these students may send donations to:

            Charlotte Middle School – Destination ImagiNation Teams

            1068 Carlisle Hwy.

            Charlotte , Michigan   48813

            Attn:  Mr. John Haynes, Principal

            517-541-5700