Local Students Advance to Global DI Finals

By Wendy Bergeron

social studies teacher

Weeks of teamwork and some very creative brainpower brought success to 5 students from Winnacunnet High School in Hampton last week when they in the Destination ImagiNation Global Finals.

“It has been a long, wonderful process for the kids who completed a community service project and created a skit documenting the work they have done.” said Wendy Bergeron, team manager for Winnacunnet DI. “They are proud of their accomplishments, and they should be, because the competition leading to Global Finals is fierce.”

Though they placed second in the state for their challenge, the students earned the biggest prizes of all – the right to compete with 20,000 other young people in Global Finals, to be held on the campus of the University of Tennessee in Knoxville in May.

The Winnacunnet DI team is made up by four sophomores: Mitchell Ouimette and Corey Quinn and three freshmen: Justin Roberts, William Smith and Ryan St. Cyr. The team is managed by Social Studies teacher Wendy Bergeron and Special Education Support Aide, Darlene Bernier.

Destination ImagiNation’s Global Finals marks the culmination of a year of problem solving, innovation and creativity. It brings team winners representing their state, province, or their country to compete together at the annual international creative problem solving Tournament.

“Destination ImagiNation Global Finals is, simply put, the largest creative problem solving and critical thinking competition of its kind held anywhere. For four days Global Finals become the place on Planet Earth where creativity is not only accepted, but it is expected,” said Wendy Bergeron.

Destination ImagiNation is active in all 50 states and in 40 countries, with more than 12,000 teams supported by more than 40,000 volunteers.

Each year in the fall, Destination ImagiNation’s creative problem solving experts create and issue five exciting and stimulating Challenges designed to test the teamwork, creativity and critical thinking skills of young people involved all over the world. Destination ImagiNation’s creative problem solving Challenges comply with National Education Standards. They are designed by a staff of educators and other professionals who have helped millions of young people enhance their critical thinking skills in a fun and nurturing team setting since DI was founded.  

The young people can choose the Challenge that interests them the most. All the Challenges are designed to develop participants’ critical thinking and creative problem solving skills. The teams are led by supportive and caring facilitators, who are either parents or adult volunteers.

Each of the Challenges offers a different focus, such as mathematics, technical design and construction, experimentation, theater arts, social studies, research, story development, architecture, geography, structural engineering and other disciplines requiring critical thinking skills necessary to be successful in tomorrow’s world.

The Winnacunnet Team must now raise funds to be able to attend the Global Finals Tournament. The team is selling tickets to the June 9th New Hampshire Fisher Cats Game for $10 and will be hosting a Dine 2 Donate event at the Applebee’s in Seabrook on April 17th from 5-8 p.m. If you are interested in purchasing Fisher Cats tickets, making a donation or want more information on the Dine 2 Donate event please email Wendy Bergeron at wmbergeron@winnacunnet.org.