Schools

Local Students Place at Destination ImagiNation Competiton

Over 8,000 students from 45 states, 7 Canadian provinces and 13 countries competed in the 2012 Destination Imagination Global Finals.

Elementary and middle school students fared well at the Destination ImagiNation 2012 Global Finals tournament held May 21-26 in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Students from and Islander Middle School took part in the competitive problem-solving competition that featured nearly 1,300 teams of students from elementary schools up to college.

A group of West Mercer students, named "The Six Musketeers" received 20th place out of a field of 60 in the elementary structure challenge. Members are:

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  • Adam Zaborski
  • Lilly Zaborski
  • Justin Skene
  • Ellie Park
  • Damien Snyder
  • Harley Hunkapiller

Our Islander Middle School Team named "The Mythical VII" received 12th place out of a field of 80 in the middle level structure challenge. Members are:

  • Aidan Wang
  • Josh Park
  • Grace Hunter
  • Ben Stoops
  • Cole Nielsen
  • Bryan Zhao
  • Joe Park

“Both teams represented Mercer Island well and were great ambassadors for our District," said Coach Mark Headlee, who is also a 4/5 grade teacher at West Mercer. "They had a great time interacting with over 8,000 creatively gifted students from 42 states and 15 countries. We can all be very proud of these students.”

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Destination ImagiNation, Inc. is an extraordinary non-profit organization that provides educational programs for students to learn and experience creativity, teamwork and problem solving. Every year, Destination ImagiNation reaches 100,000 students across the U.S. and in more than 30 countries. Destination ImagiNation is an educational program in which student teams solve open-ended Challenges and present their solutions at Tournaments.

“Our students performed well throughout this very demanding competition," said Superintendent Gary Plano. "Thanks again to Mark Headlee, and to our parents for supporting students in this outstanding example of 21st century learning.”


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