Wrentham Destination Imagination Team Going to Global Tournament

The Wrentham Elementary fourth-grade Destination Imagination is heading to the global tournament in Tennessee.

DI is in its 17th year at Wrentham Public Schools. It is an after-school enrichment program organized and staffed by volunteers. Each year, teams of students work for months on creative problem solving activities, without any parental input. They present their solutions at a Regional Tournament, receive reviews and points in order to advance to a State Tournament. At the State Tournament, those with the highest point scores are invited to go to an International event called Global Finals. This is held over a five-day period at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville from May 23 through May 27.

Thirty seven Wrentham Elementary students participated in the DI program this year. Out of the seven (7) teams that participated in the Regional Tournament, three (3) Wrentham teams advanced to the State Tournament by coming in first place for their challenge. One of our 4th Grade teams has been invited to the Global Finals as a result of placing first for their challenge at the State Tournament! This is a great honor and a feat that Wrentham has not achieved since 2003.

The fourth-grade team of Thomas Cyr, Melanie Veilleux and Faye Veilleux worked on an improvisational problem entitled "News To Me." The three scored so well on their five-minute performance that they will compete in May in the Global Competition held at the University of Tennessee. The group had to use improvisational skills to bring to life a news story that selected at random by the DI judges just prior to the performance. Their story was based on the record number of tornadoes in the news and in the story they had to include sheep from a farm which were lost. They had to combine those two stories together and a minute before their performance they were given what was called a “one minute glitch.” just to make things more challenging and to see hwo the team would handle the last-minute twist. In this case, all the characters had magic shoes on their feet.

It’s the first time Wrentham has sent a team since 2003.

There is a significant cost involved in participating in this international event. The fundraising goal for this team of three students plus their team manager is $4,900 which would just cover transportation, registration and boarding costs. Should excess funds be reached, the Wrentham Elementary PTO will hold these funds for future DI program use.

Below are some exciting fundraising events being held over the next five weeks. Hopefully there is something for everyone’s interest!

Spaghetti Dinner – Wednesday May 2nd Delaney Cafeteria. 5pm and 6:30pm. $5 per person with a family cap of $20. Reservation slips will available soon.

Pizza Party – Friday May 18th in the Roderick Cafeteria. 5pm to 9pm. Music, Games, and Fun!

Raffle Event – Raffle tickets will be for sale by members of our DI teams. Prizes include local restaurant gift certificates, free house cleaning, sports memorabilia and more. Drawing will be held on Friday May 18 at the Pizza Party. You need not be present to win.

Charitable Contributions in any amount, big or small, are gratefully accepted via: 1. Checks made payable to: Wrentham PTO, 120 Taunton St. Wrentham, MA 02093 (please note DI on the memo line of the check) OR 2. Visit http://www.razoo.com/story/Ma-Destination-Is-Putting-Wrentham-On-The-Mapin order to donate online!

To see the winning performance you may go to YouTube: http://youtu.be/JWUvxNqqFMU

The team is grateful for any and all support and will do it's best to make Wrentham and Massachusetts proud!

-Courtesy Wrentham Destination Imagination