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Health & Fitness

Destination Imagination Contestants Honored at DPS 109 School Board Meeting

Caruso DI scores a 3-Peat

For the third year in a row, a Caruso Middle School Destination Imagination team has earned 2nd place at Destination Imagination Global Finals, held at the University of Tennessee.  With more than 1,100 teams from 15 countries and most of the states competing in this creative-problem solving tournament each year, that’s quite a feat! 

On Monday, August 19th at 7:00 pm, Caruso’s 2nd place team as well as all of the Deerfield Global Finals competitors will be honored by the DPS 109 school board.  This year’s medalists are a team of 8th graders who competed in the Improv challenge.  Their team, New and Improv’d, consists of Sam Aronson, Lindsay Guare, Eran Klinghoffer, Jacob Montgomery, Sorrel Rosin, Andy Steiner and Scott Stern. 

Their main challenge was to develop a 5-minute skit based on a fictional dramatic change that was randomly drawn at the competition, while incorporating one of 6 different communications techniques that they had researched prior to the competition.  The only props they could use were up to 8 white t-shirts and 16 washable markers as well as the team members themselves.  The team was given only five minutes to prepare.  After the five-minute planning period, the team was given three nouns with which they had to create a slogan and incorporate it as an integral part of the skit. 

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In addition to their main challenge, the team also had to complete an Instant Challenge.  Instant Challenges are one-of-a-kind challenges that range from building structures (that would even have engineers scratching their heads) to acting to creating an imaginary product and giving a sales presentation. 

In my 25-plus years’ experience, many teams who score well in their main challenge fall apart in the instant challenge.  Our teams succeed by creating balanced teams of technical-minded and performance-based kids.  Teams may choose from six challenges – technical, scientific, theater arts with a technical element, improvisation, structural, or community project outreach with a documentary.  Each challenge requires the team to present their solution as a skit.  All teams in each main challenge are faced with the same Instant Challenge.

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I introduced DI to Caruso 10 years ago when I moved to Illinois from Texas.  In each of the past ten years, Deerfield has produced at least one DI state champion.  In the past three years we were asked to share our expertise with the rest of District 109.  This year 8 teams from Deerfield competed in all 6 categories – 1 team from Walden, 2 teams from Shepard and 5 teams from Caruso.  However, only four Illinois teams placed in the top ten, and three were from Caruso - New and Improv’d (2nd), Luck of DIrish (6th project outreach) and Not on the Carpet (9th – theater).

Thanks to our continued efforts, Caruso is the home of four Global Finals trophies in the last five years, one 1st place and three 2nd places.  This is no small feat.  Illinois had approximately 200 teams last year; Texas had over 2,500.  This is the equivalent of Duke University making the Elite Eight in NCAA basketball each year—that is, if Coach Krzyzewski couldn’t recruit. 

With our growing program, we are making Deerfield the capital of creativity in Illinois.

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