Several Bowie schools take top spots in tournament

Students launch planes, investigate crime in Destination ImagiNation’s problem-solving contest

Eighteen Prince George’s County schools participated in the regional contest, which is designed for grades four through 12.

The Yorktown pupils — Alex Cook, Rebecca Hastings, Logan McCusker, Joshua McFarland, Gabrielle Sparks, Emma Thrift and Mary Wenzel — were challenged to investigate and solve a case by gathering supporting evidence. The fourth- and fifth-graders, led by Yorktown parent Kathy Smith, were required to include a shadowy and colorful character in the investigation, and to invent a gadget that would help them identify the thief.

Cook said the team talked about creating the gadget to scrutinize the suspect’s fingerprints.

‘‘To create the gadget, I clipped wires to light bulbs, then I placed one wire on top of the battery and one wire on the bottom of the battery,” Cook said. ‘‘When I squeezed them together, the light lit up.”

Thrift, who portrayed the colorful character in the play, said she had ‘‘loads of fun” preparing for the competition.

‘‘The best part of all was that we won first place,” Thrift said. ‘‘We’re going to get to go to the state competition together as a team in April.”

The state contest will be held at Towson University on April 21.

Two other Yorktown Elementary teams that participated earned first and third place.

All in all, Bowie schools did well. Pointer Ridge Elementary, Benjamin Tasker Middle and Samuel Ogle Middle schools won first places.

Destination ImagiNation, a New Jersey-based nonprofit organization which organized the competition, is a ‘‘community-based, school-friendly program that builds participants’ creativity, problem solving and teamwork in enjoyable meaningful ways,” the organization’s Web site states. ‘‘We strive to encourage, teach, and celebrate creativity in our global community.”

Teams of five to seven members work together under the guidance of a team leader, typically a teacher or parent, to solve a problem.

‘‘You have to be in at least third grade to compete,” Yorktown guidance counselor Judith Goldberg-Strassler said.

Another Yorktown team was required to create a play about overcoming a personal challenge without the use of electricity. The team of third-grade pupils included pupils Liam Cook, Dale Godfrey, Kayla Johns, Abbey Kalomas, Anna Kanu, Matthew McFarland, Zachary Snyder and parent Davina McFarland as team manager.

‘‘We decided to have the person in our play overcome a fear of the dark,” Kanu said.

McFarland said she became involved in Destination ImagiNation four years ago after her oldest child asked her to join a team.

‘‘One year I acted as a tournament appraiser,” she said. ‘‘My team did wonderfully and they learned a lot and worked together peacefully, which is the Yorktown way.” The team won first place and the pupils said they look forward to competing in the state competition.

The third Yorktown team had to launch airplanes to solve their problem. The team included pupils Logan Ingham, Elee Johns, Rinor Jusufi, Cole Murray and Victoria Roberts. Parent Laura Johns was team manager.

Murray said that he was proud that his team got third place.

‘‘We got 48 out of 60 points,” Murray said. ‘‘We would have gotten higher but we read the card wrong.”

E-mail Wendy McConnell at wmcconnell@gazette.net.