Destination Imagination

Eleven Destination Imagination teams from Washington County Public Schools received certificates from the School Board Tuesday night. Pam Newhouse, director of the 2002 Western Regional Tournament, also received a certificate. The teams that received certificates will be advancing to the state competition April 13 at the University of Maryland Baltimore County. The teams are from Northern Middle School, Eastern Elementary School, Western Heights Middle School, Clear Spring Middle School, Clear Spring Elementary School, Boonsboro Elementary School, Williamsport Elementary School, Springfield Middle School, Smithsburg High School and two teams from South Hagerstown High School.

HAGERSTOWN - Eric Rosenthal said it felt like he was at the U.S. Olympics when he and his family were at the international Destination Imagination competition in Knoxville, Tenn., over the weekend. Destination Imagination is a problem-solving competition for school students, and nations competing at the international level over the weekend were introduced like those competing at the Olympics, Rosenthal said. "I had chills," he said. It would only get better for the Rosenthal family.

They built a mini-roller coaster out of "trash" and wrote a skit about an elephant who finds a young butterfly and feeds it milkweed - only to discover the butterfly is lactose intolerant. Imagination ruled the day at the Boonsboro Education Complex Saturday as students from around Western Maryland competed in Destination Imagination. The contest promotes teamwork and creativity by assigning teams of students loosely worded tasks and problems. Some students had to build things, some had to write and perform stories or musicals, and others did a combination of both.

Standing on one's head and spitting nickels used to figuratively represent a toilsome undertaking. But it might have been taken literally and breezed through as child's play for the industrious students gathered Saturday at South Hagerstown High School for the Western Maryland Regional DestiNation Imagination Tournament. Students at Northern Middle School, for example, passionately took on the “Twist-O-Rama” challenge of building a structure that could bear weight and withstand off-center torque- and twist-inducing impacts.

FREDERICK, Md. - Seventeen student teams from Frederick County competed in Destination Imagination regional competitions in Washington County March 6. Seven teams placed first, and 11 qualified for the state-level tournament at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, on Saturday, April 17. Destination Imagination is an annual worldwide, creative problem-solving competition. Students are judged by how well they use improvisational skills in instant challenge problems and by how well teams have prepared for the long-term challenges they compete in. This year's competition topics were "The Plot and the Pendulum," "Cartoon Dimensions," "Upbeat Improv," "GuessDimate" and "Destinations in Time.

The Northern Middle School Destination Imagination team took first place in the middle school competition in the "I've Got a Secret" category in the March 15 tournament at South Hagerstown High School. Team members are Ashley McCoy, Annie Beachley, Sammie Beard, Stephanie Milani, Emily Smith, Susie Bechtel and Jackie Stewart. The team manager is Rob McCoy.

Dolly Parton once said “Sometimes you just have to toot your own horn. Otherwise, nobody will know you're a-comin'.” For Paul T. Woodal Jr. of Hagerstown, his horn is attached to a Barbie-pink 2008 Volkswagen Beetle adorned with photos and sayings from one of country music's most beloved artists, Dolly Parton. Woodal, 38, credits his mother, Faye Woodal, for introducing him to the star with the beautiful voice, big hair and bigger, well, assets. “(My mother) introduced me to her records, her LPs,” he said.

Two teams from Paramount Elementary school placed first in the Western Region of the Maryland Destination Imagination competition March 2 at South Hagerstown High School. It was the first time Paramount Elementary School participated in the event. The third-grade team, the Paramount Zombie Gangsters, placed first overall in their competition and will participate in the state competition at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County Saturday, April 13. The fifth-grade team, the Paramount Cranium Crushers, also placed first in their respective event and will also compete for the state title at UMBC.

A team of four students from Salem Avenue Elementary School, including Mariama Cham, Journey Reed, Caleb Everhart and Andrew Harris participated in the Destination Imagination Regional Tournament March 2 at South Hagerstown High School. The team competed in an improvisational challenge called "Change in Realitee. " After drawing a slip with a dramatic change and then a communication technique, they then had five minutes to put together a scene using only eight plain white T-shirts.

Standing on one's head and spitting nickels used to figuratively represent a toilsome undertaking. But it might have been taken literally and breezed through as child's play for the industrious students gathered Saturday at South Hagerstown High School for the Western Maryland Regional DestiNation Imagination Tournament. Students at Northern Middle School, for example, passionately took on the “Twist-O-Rama” challenge of building a structure that could bear weight and withstand off-center torque- and twist-inducing impacts.

Chef Justin Warner has never forgotten his roots. During several interviews with The Herald-Mail leading up to his "The Next Food Network Star" win in July, Warner has always made a point to include a "shout out" to his fellow Hagerstonians. And now just weeks after being selected as the next new face of Food Network, Warner is keeping his word. Sunday night he'll take part in the "Come to the Table" dinner and event at LJ's and the Kat Lounge in Hagerstown. The $60 ticket price will include cooking demonstrations lead by Executive Chef Lonnie Coble and LJ's Chef de Cuisine Steven Farrell, as well as chefs Rachel Inman and Amanda Combs; live auction, raffle, four-course meal and a cash bar. A limited number of tickets are still available as of presstime Tuesday.

Smithsburg Middle School's Dumbledore's Army placed fourth out of 17 teams for the middle school level “Hold It” challenge at the 2012 Destination ImagiNation State Tournament on  April 14 at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County campus. The team consisted of students Megan Black, Katie Gertz, Jade Lee, Grace Miller, Mary Miller and Quinn Wandalowski. The team's project focused on a structural challenge that involved designing and building a structure made of wood and glue that held weight and contained golf balls, and a delivery device to deposit the golf balls into the structure.

The following were the Washington County winners from Saturday's Western Regional Destination Imagination competition: Assembly Required (technical challenge) Elementary school First place - St. Mary Catholic School, St. Mary Greek Freaks (Annie Balog, Zachary Mentzell, Madelyn Ortiz, Alice Poffenberger, Mason Reed, Quinton Reed, Stephen Reiter) Middle school First place - Smithsburg Middle School, Road Kill (Chandler Fishack, Zach Garvey, Kayla Keplinger, Megan McCulley, Lynn McCleaf, Mari Mullane, Karen Pastwa)

A team from Northern Middle School finished highest among nine local teams of Washington County elementary and middle school students competing Saturday in the 2011 Maryland Destination ImagiNation tournament. Northern Middle School’s Whale of a Tale placed ninth among 21 teams in the Triple Take Road Show competition, with the St. Mary Dog Pound team placing 18th, said Dan Henderson, the Western Maryland regional director for Destination ImagiNation. “It’s a global competition that fosters teamwork, innovation and creativity,” Henderson said of Destination ImagiNation.

WILLIAMSPORT -- Three Williamsport students were honored Thursday night for accomplishments in and out of the classroom during a ceremony that Mayor James G. McCleaf II said will become an annual event. Brett Weaver, Samantha Van Slyke and Graylon Wright were honored as part of International Youth Day, which is celebrated by the United Nations to recognize young peoples' energy, imagination and initiatives. McCleaf said students who were honored as part of the International Youth Day event in town were selected based on academics and the work they perform in the community.