Putnam Valley Central School District

PV Students Set Sail For Destination Imagination And Bring Home Four Trophies - March 4, 2008

Top to Bottom:

First: The Boys, one of Putnam Valley's two elementary level teams in the Obstacles, Of Course! challenge. Members are (left to right) Kyle Carroll, Matt Jenkins, Connor Cronin, Larry Kennedy, Jake Kahn, and Ryan Usai.

Second: Members of the First Grade Rising Stars team compete in the Twist'd History challenge. Members include Lea Frenkel, Lily Gesson, Alfred Ricker, Zared Eljamal, Jack Goldenberg, and Joseph Garbowski (NOT IN LEFT TO RIGHT ORDER.)

Third: A group shot of most (unfortunately not all - we are missing one team) of the Putnam Valley teams that competed in Saturday's tournament.

Fourth: The Rockin' Turtles, Putnam Valley's Kindergarten Rising Stars team, whose members are (left to right) Aidan Emery, Cameron Carroll (kneeling), Keith Weed, and Dominic and Donovan Eannacony

Putnam Valley brought home four trophies from the Destination ImagiNation 2008 Eastern Regional Tournament at Yorktown High School and Middle School on Saturday, March 1.

The town, led by District Coordinator and PVES Third Grade Teacher Barbara Parmly, fielded seven teams: two Rising Stars teams (one kindergarten, one first grade); three Elementary School (grades two, three and four) teams and two Middle School teams.

DestiNation Imagination is a creative, problem-solving competition in which students use their knowledge and imagination to solve a central "challenge" that is then presented to appraisers, as well as compete in an "instant" challenge that tests their teamwork and spontaneous creative abilities.

“By coming here today and presenting their solutions, each of these teams has accomplished a great feat – they have seen their task through to its end, and they are ready to present their solutions to you, the public,” said Seth A. Davis, Eastern Regional Director, DestiNation Imagination of New York, Inc.”For this reason, we consider that all of our teams today are winners.”

Putnam Valley's youngest team, "The Rockin' Turtles," wow'd the audience with a rousing performance revealing what would have happened had engines never been invented (hint: magic boats really came in handy!) The town's first grade Rising Stars team also demonstrated what would have happened had history been altered - performing a creative song describing how much we would all miss if there were no electrical appliances. Both Rising Stars team were awarded trophies for their efforts in the Twisted History challenge.

Third place trophies were awarded to two Putnam Valley teams—the Elementary School level "Switcherooze," which competed in the SWITCH! challenge and "DI PI," a Middle School level team competing in Hit or Myth,
which featured a talking statue, a creative fast-forwarding device and a playful lightning bolt.

Orson Welles' classic hoax radio broadcast War of the Worlds served as the inspiration for "The Boys," an Elementary School level team which constructed a miniature New York City scene for its "alien" car to traverse in the Obstacles, Of Course! category. And the "Hermit Crabs," another Elementary Level team competing in the Obstacles challenge, served up a day at the beach complete with sand castles and toes suitable for dipping in any ocean.

And at the Middle School level, "FYI We're The FDI" rounded out the program, competing in the DI've Got A Secret challenge.

“DestiNation Imagination was a real community effort for Putnam Valley,” said PTA Co-President and team co-manager Amanita Duga-Carroll. “Parents put in countless hours coaching teams, teachers volunteered to work at the Tournament, and even our own Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Marc Space, served as a volunteer appraiser for the tournament.”

Proudly wearing their signature neon-yellow tee-shirts (designed by the Middle School DI teams) Putnam Valley teams attended each of the town's team challenges - cheering on their classmates and neighbors and making the day a positive, upbeat experience for all.