Congratulations to Jesse Clayton and Stephen Galaida!

Jesse Clayton and Stephen Galaida, who are fifth grade students at Carroll Lutheran School, took First Place in their category with their team at the regional Destination Imagination tournament in Hagerstown on Saturday. The Western region of DI includes Carroll, Frederick, Washington, Allegany and Garrett Counties. Destination Imagination is a national/international competition for creative problem solving.

Stephen and Jesse were the only two students from Carroll County in any age group who competed in the tournament.

The team competed in the toughest category, with the most competition-seven teams in the elementary division-which is the most competition of any age group in any challenge category. Their challenge was to create a “Feary Tale” about a character that overcomes a phobia to solve a problem. They had to incorporate expressive art, functional art, a visual illusion and two “team choice” elements that would get scored. They created a story about emoticons inside of a computer, which was unique and challenging to implement. They were also scored on teamwork, cohesive storytelling and other criteria.

As a result of their victory, they will be competing in the state competition on April 18 at UMBC.

Way to go Jesse and Stephen! We are all so proud of you!! PS You may want to ask them for their autographs:)