Students of James McKinney elementary have been invited to represent B.C. at a world critical thinking skills contest in the U.S.
The students won through to the Destination ImagiNation global final next month at the University of Tennessee after winning the provincial tournament at West Vancouver secondary on Saturday.
The McKinney team comprising seven students in Grades 4 to 6 is now preparing to demonstrate its technical creativity in Knoxville, TN on May 2326.
"Students enjoyed this challenge immensely," said Brenda Khoo, parent volunteer at McKinney. "Students in Grades 3-7 built vehicles, performed plays with sets, took on community outreach projects, made movie trailers and built structures."
While many adults volunteered to help the teams of students, one of the tenets of Destination ImagiNation is that adults are not to assist in any way except teaching new skills, such as using a power tool or a sewing machine.
Allan Osadchy, McKinney principal, couldn't be more proud of his students and volunteers.
"These challenges help students with critical thinking and problem solving skills. Students learn independence, new skills, and have fun."
In anticipation of the expenses involved in traveling to Tennessee with the equipment they have designed, the team has been soliciting donations from the neighbourhood encompassing McKinney Elementary.
Notably, on Monday night, two students managed to collect more than $200, ranging from a few pennies to $20 per contributing household. Local support has far exceeded the parents expectations after only one night of fundraising.
With a little more than a month remaining before the departure date, the students are eager to quickly raise several thousand dollars to fund their trip.
Anyone wishing to contribute may send donations via PayPal to [email protected].
Destination ImagiNation is a global non-profit initiative aiming to expand creativity, collaboration, communication, and critical thinking skills amongst students. Destination ImagiNation consists of more than 1.3 million alumni worldwide and a global network of 35,000 volunteers.
