Chester Students Use Imagination To Take On The World

Tinker toys are a thing of the past. Now students are turning their imaginations into destinations, and it’s opening them up to the world.

A group of students from Black River Middle School recently took their imaginations and knowledge to Knoxville, Tennessee, to compete in the Destination Imagination Global Finals, the largest creative thinking and problem solving competition in the world.

The team, made up of eighth graders Ava Brandt, Mariana Bulko, Eli Foster, Emma Gugliemini, Gabrielle Hamilton, and Ainsley Ronco, punched its ticket to the competition after receiving honors for creativity, teamwork, and problem solving in the New Jersey State Tournament.

The team, which calls itself Team Shuffled, competed from May 20 to 23 and came in an amazing 12th place overall out of 1,468 teams. The challenge included one of seven, open-ended challenges that require the application of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), as well as improvisation, theater arts, writing, project management, communication, innovation, teamwork, and community service.

The team was led by the school’s DI Coordinator Andrew Gray and team manager Heather Ronco.

“This talented group of kids was wonderful to work with these past three years,” said Gray. “Few educational programs are as ‘eclectic’ and cater to such a wide array of student talents and interests.”

Photo Courtesy Black River Middle School