On Saturday school children from throughout the peninsula met at Klahowya Secondary School to participate and, in some cases, compete in Destination Imagination. The kids have been practicing in teams since the beginning of the school year, and in one case that I met for eight years.
Like almost all things involving school children exploring their passions, the event is high energy, which is saying something when much of the work involves science.
The organizers escorted me to three different kinds of performances. The first involved groups telling a story, without any words, with required elements being superheroes, transformation and disguises. The second grouping required groups to put on a skit and test the strength of a seven-inch structure. Elements of the structure had to be part of the skit going on next to the strength test. The third element I saw was in improv competition called “Change in Realitee.” The group was given a situation, in the case I saw it was the sudden absence of helicopters. The group had to use three nouns (“meal,” “coach” and “game” were my show’s nouns) to create a slogan used in the skit. And they had to use T-shirts in some way.
Part of the high energy also comes from the volunteers, and there are a ton of them. It’s no wonder parents and others who work with kids feel devoted to the event. The skills the students get from participating can be translated well beyond performing skits. While waiting for one of the events I interviewed six members of Phanny Paks, a group that has a history together. Some of them have been competing together as a team for eight years. The benefits of the program, assuming the program created what I witnessed, were on display in the poise, confidence and joy I saw in this group of students from CK High, every last one of them.
Below you can watch a brief video showing highlights from a couple of the events. The first group is made up of seventh and eighth graders at Klahowya. The second has students from Silver Ridge Elementary. You might not get the full idea from the video, but it gives you some idea what students did on Saturday.
Groups moving on to the April 6 state competition in Wenatchee in the different groupings are:
“In the Zone”
Elementary — Emerald Heights (Silverdale)
Middle — Sequim Independent (Sequim)
“Wind Visible”
Elementary — Belfair (Belfair)
Secondary — Central Kitsap High School (Silverdale)
“In Disguise”
Elementary — Silverdale (Silverdale)
Middle — Mullenix Ridge (Port Orchard)
Secondary — Bainbridge Independent (Bainbridge Island
“Change in Realitee”
Elementary — Sand Hill (Belfair)
Middle — CK Jr. High (Silverdale)
Secondary — Bainbridge Independent (Bainbridge Island)
“Twist-O-Rama”
Elementary — Sand Hill (Belfair)
Middle — Klahowya (Silverdale)
