Robbinsdale Area Schools Got Great Imagination

Two teams from the Robbinsdale Area School District are headed to the state Destination ImagiNation tournament in April, after both took second place in their divisions at the West Metro Regional Tournament Feb. 25 in Maple Grove.

The DI team from call themselves "The Pink Ladies" and the team is comprised of eighth graders Julia Roston and Alexa Johnson, and sixth graders Mia Hanson, Alyssa Egstad, Kelly Mikkelson, Leah Baker, and Ciarra Fagerlie.  The team is coached by Heidi and Todd Roston.

The Destination ImagiNation (DI) team from Neill Elementary is no stranger to the state tournament; it went on to compete in the Global Destination ImagiNation Tournament last spring after capturing second place in the state tournament. This year the team returns to state with one returning member – Ali Roston – and six new members:  Natalie Kohn, Amya Enna, Abby Sobol, Henry Hubred, Simon Hanson and Ben Egstad.  The team is coached by Ken Strand.

Both teams participated in the same challenge: to create and present a movie trailer that portrays the interaction of characters from at least two nations.  The movie trailer must portray plot highlights from a movie that the team imagines, not an existing film.  Said Strand about his team, “The team is great.  They created a trailer about a movie entitled ‘The Virus of Venice’, where children from Venice traveled back in time to Israel to find an antidote for a virus that was killing all the adults.  Now that’s creative!”

The state tournament will be held on April 14 at Jackson Middle School and Champlin Park High School.