Don Juan Students Use ImagiNation to Represent Aliso Viejo

students will be travelling to Tennessee in May for the Global Destination ImagiNation Competition.

DI is an afterschool program that gives students mind-bending challenges where they present their solutions at tournaments. Teams must think on their feet and work as a team to create original solutions to a central challenge, which is worked on for six months. They also work on a secret instant challenge, which they must solve in minutes. No parent participation is allowed.

Sixth, seventh and eighth graders who make up the team known as The Mustachios, won one of the top spots during the DI State Championship Tournament competition in Clovis, Calif. in early April.

The Mustachios won the regional championship in February in San Juan Capistrano, qualifiying them for the state tournament.

The Mustachios’ central challenge was to

“show the cause and effect of two random unrelated news articles and devise it into a entertaining five minute skit while incorporating an unsuspecting random element that is given to them one minute before they are to perform—known as the One Minute Glitch [OMG moment].”

The Mustachios’ will compete against 1,000 teams at the Global competition.

“It is an honor to represent Don Juan Avila Middle School, Aliso Viejo, Orange County, CUSD and the state of California in this prestigious event” says Rick Wojcicki, team manager. “The kids have worked very hard for over six months to get to this point and are excited to move on to the next level.”

Wojcicki said the students are proud to represent their school.

“The kids are faced with dwindling school budgets, helicopter parents, and an onslaught of standardized testing, but when these kids get this kind of experience, they learn how to think outside the standards and approach problem solving from numerous vantage points by themselves and for themselves which is going to provide them with some very important life skills. To now say they are State Champions is just icing on the cake,” he said.

The team will be raising funds for their four-day trip and are looking for the community’s support to raise $2,700 per team member.

To help the team raise funds go to themustachios.chipin.com/the-mustachios.