Imagination Finds Its Destination: Knoxville

It may have been the weekend, but three groups of students from Holliston were on anything but a break from academics Saturday in Worcester.

Representatives from , , and Schools competed with dozens of other schools from Massachusetts in the 2011 Destination Imagination State Tournament. The event was held at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, which along with the sunny weather, set up a magnificent backdrop for the day's proceedings.

Destination Imagination is a non-profit organization devoted to teaching three essential skills: Creativity, Teamwork and Problem Solving. Every year, students of all ages from across the United States and from more than 30 countries work together to solve one of six open-ended team challenges and then present their solution in various tournaments.

Saturday was particularly fruitful for the Holliston Middle School "Mythology Mission" team, which placed second to qualify for the Global Finals May 25-28 at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.

"The event went really well for Holliston. Each team performed great. It was a great experience," said Holliston DI program co-coordinator Mindee Meltzer, who also managed the High School team.

In the Middle School Mythology Mission team's challenge, the participants had five minutes to plan and then perform a story about various cultures and mythological animals they had been studying for months. They could use a limited set of props, which they had not prepared for.

The Mythology Mission team was managed by town co-coordinator Kristine Perlmutter and consisted of Joshua Perlmutter, Kent Perlmutter, Ryan Cahill, James Crews, Abby Meltzer and Arianna Ameli.

Meanwhile, the Elementary School team did a challenge called "Triple-Take Road Show," which was a conflict-resolution game that tasked the Holliston youngsters with writing and performing the same story to three different audiences using three different storytelling methods.

The Elementary School team was managed by High School juniors Ryan Meltzer and Christina Belforti and was composed of Olivia Palmer, Nicole Slade, Maria Gentile, Jenna Pralat, Lara Cunningham, Joshua Cagan and Matthew Glazer.

Lastly, the High School squad did a challenge called "Verses Foiled Again," in which the team had to build a 14.2-gram structure out of wood and glue that could hold 220 pounds. The twist was that each team had to perform a play around the structure.

The HHS team, dubbed "Konrad and Dreich's Musical Theatre," had to write and perform its own play while incorporating team-written verses with published works. "Konrad" was ably played by Meltzer's son, Adam.

"It really is a great program," said team manager Kathy Skerry. "I was really impressed with the job all the participants did (Saturday). They've all been working on this for months and to see it come together is wonderful."

Skerry’s team was manned by Stephanie Skerry, Alicia Skerry, Adam Meltzer, Julianna Stevenson, Gaby Garvey, Jessica Lamb and Danielle Lamb.

Konrad and Dreich's Musical Theatre's performance received a large ovation from the crowd, leading Mindee Meltzer to express positive endorsements for the Destination Imagination program shortly thereafter.

"It's an incredible program because its one of the few programs where no family, no adults, no one is allowed to interfere," she said. "And its teaching kids how to work together as a team, and points are even given out based on how well they work together, so you're teaching kids how to not put down each other's ideas.

"You see the 'yes, and' instead of the 'yes, but.' That's really what's taught in this program is how to see the positives instead of the negatives in their teammates and how to best work together as a team while bringing the best out in everybody."

Destination Imagination is a part of the day program list for some schools, and for others, it's an after-school offering. In Holliston's case, it's an after-school program, making volunteers like Mindee Meltzer and Kathy Skerry essential to its survival.

"In Holliston, DI is sponsored by the Holliston PTSA. We send out a letter in the kid's backpacks in September and we start with the third grade," said Meltzer. "Anyone can join. It's amazing to see kids up there, performing a skit that they wrote, in costumes that they made, in scenery that they made.

"And they feel so proud that it doesn't matter how they do, because they know that everything they did belongs to them. Seeing that look of pride on their faces is the unforgettable part."

While the complete scores were not available at press time, the Middle School team's trip to Knoxville was secure. The Holliston PTSA will begin fundraising for that event shortly.

All told, it was an impressive day for the Holliston participants, who, at the very least, had the opportunity to challenge themselves in new ways as a team in an academic and creative setting.