École River Heights School Hosts 2023 Manitoba Destination Imagination Provincial Tournament

École River Heights School played host to the 2022-2023 Manitoba Destination Imagination Provincial Tournament March 15, 2023. The event featured over 20 teams of students at the elementary and middle school level (mostly Winnipeg School Division Schools) participating in Team Challenges in the Fine Arts, Engineering, Improv and Service-Learning categories.

Kids can be empowered to change the world

According to its website the Destination Imagination global community is united by a core belief that when students have the freedom to grow and collaborate without boundaries, their confidence explodes and the world opens up to them in new ways. It states this transformation may be possible by providing challenges rooted in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) subjects that inspire unique solutions through the use of the creative process.

“We believe that every child deserves the opportunity to tell their story, share their unique creations and be celebrated for what they’ve accomplished. Through witnessing this process of creative self-expression and validation, students blossom into more confident and knowledgeable individuals.”

At a lively opening ceremony, Adam Charbonneau, Winnipeg School Division STEAM Support Teacher welcomed participants and their families, pumping them up for the learning experiences they were about to partake in. He noted their hard work over the last few months to prepare for their Team Challenges, each with a unique set of criteria.

“It is a prime example of STEAM learning and creation, and each team’s presentation is 100 percent student driven,” said Charbonneau. “Students have written their scripts, assembled/found/built props, costumes and set pieces.”

The River Heights event featured:

Fine Arts Challenge:

Middle and Elementary Years Teams from École River Heights, Ralph Brown, Pinkham and Wolseley Schools were challenged to create and present a flipped tale inspired by a well-known story but focused on a new main character. They had to:

• Research literacy devices and integrate one into the presentation.
• Use theatrical techniques to move the audience’s focus from one portion of the presentation to another.
• Design and build a piece of scenery that goes through a scenery flip.
• Create and present two Team Choice Elements that show off the team’s interests, skills, areas of strength and talents. 

Improvisational Challenge:

Using research, spontaneity and storytelling, teams were presented with a topic to quickly produce a skit with.

Teams from Wolseley School and École River Heights School performed after studying festivals from around the world. They created and presented a two-act improvisational skit about a goal a charter is trying to achieve at a festival.

Engineering Challenge:

Students from Balmoral, Wolseley, Ralph Brown and Meadows West Schools designed and built a roller coaster assembled and then tested during the presentation. They were challenged with having to design and create a launching mechanism that starts moving a golf ball along a roller coast track.

The Presentation had to show/describe what the riders would experience when riding the roller coaster. 

Service Learning: 

John M. King School created and presented “Hungry Hungry Hippos” addressing a need in a community by creating and presenting a suspenseful story about a high-stakes situation. 

In between team challenges there was also a “Maker Space” where students collaborated with others and explored different materials and technology.

At the end of the event each team received an award or banner in the closing ceremony.