Libertyville Elementary District 70 Schools to Send Four DI Teams to State

Four Libertyville Elementary School District 70 teams involved in an international problem-solving program will compete on the state level next month.   

Destination Imagination challenges students in problem solving techniques. This year, students from , , and  had teams competing in the regional competition that placed in the top three slots and now advanced to the state contest.

The sponsors for all the District 70 teams this year are teachers Karen McLean and Ashley Zeinz.                    

• Being awarded first place was Adler Park School team “Gator Warriors” that performed the challenge “News to Me” where students performed a skit about the cause-and-effect relationship between two unrelated news stories, then have all the plans suddenly become discombobulated by a one-minute glitch. Members include Annika Bjorklund, Abigail Cima, Maddy Jacobs and Ellie Seyl. The team manager is Eric Cima.
• Three teams also ranked in second place at the regional’s. They include:
  • Highland Middle School “That Team Over There” team competed in the “Assembly Required” challenge where teams designed and built equipment that retrieved parts and delivered assembled products made to order, all to a special story. Highland team members are Elias Anderson, Mitry Anderson, Alex Dikelsky, Jacob Dikelsky, Andy Liu, Annika McDermott-Hinman and Adam Sparks. The manager is Greg Sparks.
  • Butterfield School “1, 2, 3 Not It” team also did the challenge “Assembly Required.” Team members of the all female group include Emma Chandler, Jillian Cote, Hannah Hartshorne, Alyssa Kline and Erin Leese. Team managers are Elizabeth and Doug Chandler.
  • Butterfield School "One Small Step For Kids, One Giant Leap For DI" team performed the "Coming Attraction" challenge where the team presented a movie trailer involving characters from at least two nations and featured an original soundtrack. Team members are Jake Duffy, Tate Constable, Milica Lukic, Allison McLean, Scott Patterson and Jonathon Timm. The managers are Dan Timm and Fred Duffy.

Other teams that competed on the regional level from District 70 were:

• Adler Park School “Extreme Steam” team ranked fifth in the “Assembly Required” challenge. Members included Chase Houser, Noah Scally and Eric Sparks. The manager is Greg Sparks.
• A team called “Sumo Gummy Bears” from Butterfield School ranked seventh with the "Hold It" challenge where the team designed, built and tested a wood and glue structure to see how much weight it could hold of tournament-provided golf balls as they told a story. Team members were Justin Carlson, Nicholas Formento, Andrew Gilson, Tomasso Oliverii,  Aidan O'Sullivan and Michael Xu. The manager is Donna Carlson.
•  “The Problem Solvers” from Butterfield School ranked 13th  on the challenge called “Hold It.” Team members were Katie Carlson, Ethan Kendall, Nadia Lausch, Amy Paulsen, Zack Paulsen, Maddie Tepper and Michael Tropp. The managers are Michelle and Daniel Paulsen.

The teams will compete at the state competition on April 14 at Northern Illinois University.

Information provided by Libertyville Elementary School District 70.