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Arcadia Youth Build Leadership through Improv

ARCADIA DESTINATION IMAGINATION TEAMS WIN 1ST, 2ND, 3RD, PLACE REGIONALS.

 

Arcadia Destination Imagination Teams win 1st place 3 years in a row!  Arcadia Improvisational Public Speaking teams won 1st, 2nd, 3rd place in Middle School Level, 2nd and 4th place in Elementary Level, and earned Highest Instant Challenge Scores (100%) in all levels at the Destination Imagination Regional Tournament on Sat., March 1, 2014.  All 5 winning teams are invited to compete at State Tournament on Sat., March 29 at the Riverside Convention Center.  All teams were trained for six months by an after school program called RTWKIDS Public Speaking at Holly Ave. Elementary school.  The first year, only one team was qualified to attend the State Tournament.  In 2012 and 2013, a Holly Ave. and a First Ave. team won 1st place Regionals, State, and won all the way to Global Finals.  "We are taking big steps in a very short time!  It’s a great opportunity to help young minds in Arcadia embrace creativity, critical thinking, and strong leadership skills," commented Cindy Ong, director of the program, "I would like to congratulate the brilliant students from Holly Avenue School, First Avenue Middle School, Dana Middle School, and local schools for their hard work and ingenuity.

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1st Place Middle School Team “NerDI Pandas”:  Grace Wong, Michelle Liang, Katherine Andia, Rukan Saif, Daisy Pithawalla. 

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2nd Place and Da Vinci Award Middle School Team “Teletubbies”:  Ella Cho, Manasi Movva, Bridgette Yang, Cory Poon, Daniel Ho.

3rd Place Middle School with Top Instant Challenge Score (100%) “Forever is That Way”:  Kayla Yang, Kaelyn Ong, Shreenithi Navaneethan, Ryan Tsai, Fiza Haroon, Collin Gaja.

2nd Place Elementary Team “Calif. Rolls” with Top IC Score (100%):  Nora Lee, Nivetha Navaneethan, Ganga Prasanth, Shriya Kumar.

4th Place Elementary Team “DI-Einsteins” with Top IC Score (100%):  Evan and Jaden Steinhoff, Forrest Wheeler, Eric Khaw, Ethan Munsayac.

1st Place High School Team “UNTITLED” with Top IC Score (100%):  Elaine Che, Ryan Ong, Aneesh Khera, Lily Ling, Sirej Dua, Bryan Huang, Joseph Ha.

Destination Imagination Competition is a worldwide program that fosters creative problem solving, STEM design/ research, teamwork, time management, and communication. Every year, teams compete annually at Regionals, State, and Global Finals with 28,000 international attendees.  Teams may choose one category to compete such as Scientific, Improvisational Public Speaking, Structural, Community Service, Technical, Fine Arts/Theater.  “After six months fun and intense training focusing on creative problem solving and teamwork, I witness every child grow into a more confident, decisive, goal-oriented person full of creative solutions and strong communication skills," quotes Cindy Ong, “Each child is encouraged to build on their strengths and develop strong life skills for a lifetime, it’s not about winning or losing.” Volunteer competition coach Ryan Ong states “ I believe every child has the potential to be great, but they need someone to help them discover their strengths.”

 

Thanks to the support of Holly Ave. Principal Mrs. Blackstock, Mr. Wilson and Dr. Issa from First Ave. Middle School, all students have a chance to experience Destination Imagination through after school programs and clubs.  The competition was once part of the curriculum for (GATE) Gifted and Talented students, but it ended due to budget cuts.  In the last few years, over 150 students have rediscovered a passion to work together and think “out of the box” to solve problems.  “In my first year, it was really hard to brainstorm more than one way to tackle a problem.  After three years of competition training, we have more ideas than ever!”  quotes Kaelyn Ong.

 

Nine teams were trained by Cindy Ong and a crew of devoted DI competition gurus.  Dedicated volunteers Ryan Ong, Katharine Lam, and Kaelyn Ong devoted countless hours after school for the last 5 years to help the youth in our community build confidence in public speaking and strong leadership skills. 

 

“I urge everyone to join us at the State Tournament since it is so conveniently located at the Riverside Convention Center this year, and it’s open to the public!   It is a fun learning experience to see amazing solutions presented creatively and professionally by young inventors, scientists, engineers, and future influential leaders.  Parents and students alike will enjoy the watching the performances.”

 

For more information, please contact Cindy Ong at rtwkids@yahoo.com  and see Destinationimagination.org website. 

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