It was a historic ending for Mount Pleasant ISD Destination Imagination (DI) as four MPISD teams competed with almost 450 teams from across the state of Texas at the state DI tournament, the Lone Star Finals, on March 24-25 at the University of Texas at Arlington. And for the first time in district history, 2 teams advanced from the state meet to Global Finals.
A Destination Imagination Team Challenge is an open-ended project that teams work on over an extended period of time, usually 2-4 months. There are seven new Team Challenges each year: Engineering, Technical, Scientific, Fine Arts, Improvisational, Service Learning, and Early Learning Challenge (Rising Stars!).
Advancing to Global Finals from Wallace Middle School, the Comeback Rubber Duckies placed 3rd out of 21 teams in the Improvisational category. In 2020, they were the first 2nd grade level team ever invited to the state competition, but the world shut down due to a global pandemic and the Rubber Duckies did not get to compete. The students stayed together, rebranded as the Comeback Rubber Duckies, and will be representing MPISD at Global Finals. Team members include Jannahi Castro, Lily Henry, Ari Martinez, Aldo Orona, Caleb Townson, and Jonathan Williams.
Advancing to Global Finals from Brice Elementary School, the Smart Penguins Going Bananas placed 5th out of 16 in the Improvisational category. The youngest improvisational competitors had two minutes to plan a skit including all the required elements of the challenge. In their first year together, they will be representing MPISD at Global Finals. Team members include Kaylyn Andrade, Judah Deal, Anna Henry, Eddie Olva, and Josie Rodriguez.
Also competing at state were the Flying Piggy Pilots, made up of a combination of students from Sims Elementary School and Wallace Middle School, who placed 7th out of 25 teams in the Engineering category. They built a roller coaster which was the second longest at the tournament and their speed was 32 seconds. Team members were Joahn Balderas, Kinlee Castro, Sebastian Cates, Annalie Mata, Sebastian Otero, and Abigail Tolentino. And from Sims Elementary School, the Algecat Tricksters placed 22nd in the Engineering category after facing a disappointing setback. Their roller coaster was damaged during transport which ultimately cost them several points during competition. One of the biggest challenges for DI competitors is responding to adversity and team members did their best to adapt and overcome, a valuable skill in and of itself. Team members included Insiyah Abbas, Zahra Abbas, Camila Cates, Jake Jones, and Sam Jones.
“It was a busy and fast weekend full of Destination Imagination,” said MPISD DI coordinator, Jamie King. “Our students represented Mount Pleasant very well in ability as well as sportsmanship. Destination Imagination is full of risks and challenges and our teams experienced those. It took 8 years, but here we are! Mount Pleasant ISD Destination Imagination is a Global Force! My heart is full and I am overjoyed to be attending Global Finals for the first time as a Mount Pleasant Tiger.”
The DI Global Finals will be May 20-23 in Kansas City, MO. The MPISD State advancing and Global Final Destination Imagination Teams are coached by Jamie King.