Returning to Tennessee...

Saturday, May 26, 2012

DestInators win 2nd place!

Unbelievable...a second place finish out of 59 teams from all over the world!!!

Way to go DestInators!!!!!! We're so proud of you all!

A special hello to our good friend Skye...

We miss you!

A busy Saturday!

Another early breakfast...

Making good luck signs for the Merwin Firecrackers!

Checking in for our Instant Challenge!

Being filmed for the DITV broadcast...

Making a silly animated dance video...

And getting our last 2012 team picture!

Now, off to the 2012 Global Finals Closing Ceremonies!

Friday, May 25, 2012

Another great presentation by the DestInators! They entertained the appraisers and shared their story of working together to keep the arts alive in West Clermont. Thanks to our cheering section...DestInator Moms and the Merwin Firecrackers!!

Hunter feels pretty good after rockin the team challenge...

Off to the Knoxville Convention Center where we ran into Dr. Frank, the famous pin designer...

Waded in the fountain to stay cool...

And participated in some cool science and technology exhibits...

(we know Hailey's small, but that's still a big bubble!)

We finished off the day with a late night swim and are hanging out resting up for the Instant Challenge tomorrow!

Ready!

At the check in area...minutes before the competition

Thursday, May 24, 2012

A day of fun

Water games...

Pin trading...

Introducing...

The cast of the HUNGER GAMES

Reuniting with Hunter

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Preparing for tomorrow...

We spent the morning unloading props, practicing our presentation, and fixing up the set.

Getting our team spirit on...

The preparations for tomorrow have been made.... Now time for some fun!!!!

We'll check in later...

A "close" team

Staying flexible is the key for a good experience at Globals. The line for dinner was SO long we were going to be late for the parade so we piled in Mrs. Reynolds car to go to Wendy's instead only to discover....a dead car battery! We had to cram into Mrs. Rakestraw's van instead. (McKenna is in there somewhere). (Mrs. Reynolds is all set now and driving back to GA this morning).

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The team is complete!

After reuniting with Hunter, we unpacked and settled in at Laurel Hall-a great apartment complex! The girls have a two bedroom party suite, the guys have their own bachelor pad and Mrs. Rakestraw has a quiet one bedroom down the hall. :)

After a team breakfast, the plans are to unload our props into the storage area, do a few run throughs of our presentation, and watch a few of our competitors.

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Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Getting ready for the international parade!

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And we're off!

After leading a community service project to bring back the arts to their community, The DestInators, a group of West Clermont 7th graders with big imaginations and even bigger hearts, won their Regional and State Destination Imagination tournaments and were invited back to Global Finals at the University of Tennessee.

Beginning our trip from Ohio to Knoxville!

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Saturday, May 28, 2011

Signing off...

Thank you for your support!

As we wrap up our time in Tennessee and look back at our week, we are grateful for many things.

1. The opportunity for so many unique and mind bending experiences that will shape us for years to come.

2. For the people we get to meet from all over the world who teach us how our worlds are so different, but yet the same.

3. For the chance to continue building life long friendships.

4. Learning how to truly be a team. It's easy to celebrate together but it takes hard work to learn how to manage challenges and recover from setbacks as a group.

5. Remembering that our unique gifts make us who we are and allow us to work together on limitless solutions to challenges that we face every day in life.

We are proud to have finished in the top half of the middle school competition - 31st place out of 79 teams. For our first time in the Middle Level as a young 6th grade team against 6th, 7th, and 8th grade teams, we were happy to just be here at this amazing competition.

Thanks again to the DI teams: CFI, Imaginators, and the Merwin Minions for our great bags - we used them all week!

Looking forward to next year and signing off for now...

The Destinators

River Tubing

Next, we went tubing on the Little River where we enjoyed a relaxing ride, some exciting rapids, and a few of us braved the crazy rope swing off the bank.

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Team Field Trip!

Today we went on a team excursion to the Tennessee Heritage Center where we learned about life in the 1800's. We tried honey from a bee hive, learned how to make cornbread, and played with some unusual children's toys. Lunch was BBQ ribs and chicken while we listened to some bluegrass music.