The D.I. Dabbers - a team composed of 4th and 5th graders at Hornung Elementary School and Maltby Intermediate School in Brighton didn’t finish among the winners of the Destination Imagination Global Finals; however, they still chalked it up as a rewarding experience. Jennifer Bond, the Brighton DI coach, says her charges were thrilled to meet students from all over the world and get to know them.

The Brighton team got a later start than the others because they didn’t sign up for the Destination Imagination tournament until February, whereas most teams begin in the fall. Under the circumstances, Bond feels they did exceptionally well. The D.I. Dabbers competed in the Inside Impact challenge with 77 teams in their challenge, which involved creating a service learning project to impact the lives of others.

The D.I. Dabbers’ service project was providing the homeless population in Ann Arbor with care package bags, which they did in February. The team earned the opportunity to compete at the Global Finals after placing first at the state tournament in April. The team members are Katelyn Bond, Frankie Foltyn, McKenzie Foltyn, Colter Kashian, Pierce Pettengill, Bella Pipesh, and Drew Smith. The team competed in central challenge and an instant challenge and placed 37th out of 77 teams in their challenge, placing them in the middle of the pack.

The top teams in their challenge and level came from Missouri, Texas, Illinois, Canada, and China. However, Michigan did have several teams in the top ten in different challenges – there were six challenges in all - and even 3 teams that placed in the top 3. They included Ravenna Middle Level Engineering Challenge 3rd place, Holt-Dimondale Service Learning Challenge, also 3rd place, and Farmington Middle Level Technical Challenge, 2nd place.(TT)