A Destination Imagination team of Newton 4th graders has earned top honors in the state and will represent Massachusetts in the Destination Imagination Global Finals in Knoxville, TN over Memorial Day weekend.  This is the 5th year in a row that Newton students have won this honor!  This team won by engineering a structure weighing 28 grams yet holding 720 pounds — more than held by any other team’s structure in the state.  The team of students from Bowen, Cabot, Burr, and Solomon Schechter also had to create and present a performance, including a technical component, to a panel of judges.

Destination Imagination (DI) is a global creative problem-solving competition for teams of up to seven children in Grades K-12 to collaborate on solutions to unique STEAM challenges. Students work independently from parents and learn life skills such as communicating and listening, empathy towards others, being a problem solver, and making connections across complex ideas.

Newton DI was formed eight years ago and has been growing ever since, with 17 teams participating this year. Matthew Miller, founder of Newton DI, says, “In DI, parents are not allowed to be a part of the solution. As a result, we see participants taking risks, learning new skills, and stepping outside of their comfort zone. The best feeling in the world is when a parent at the end of the season tells me that they have never seen their child any happier.”