Welcome to Maryland DI 2008-2009 Important Announcements!!!!!

Calling all Team Managers!
Prepare your team by preparing yourself. Both 1st year and veteran team managers will benefit from an in-depth training regarding vital skills to make managing a team a breeze.

Two trainings are offered:

November 8th at Carver Center for Arts & Tech in Towson
November  22nd at Crofton Middle School in Crofton

 For more info and to register, click here.

 Maryland Affiliate Fees

Note that the following Maryland affiliate fees should  be added to the purchase price of each DI membership through www.shopdi.org or via paper registration (link to paper application): Teams purchasing their memberships through www.shopdi.org will see that the affiliate fee will automatically added to their purchase price. Teams using a paper registration should be sure to add the affiliate fee in the designated spot on the form and to add the amount to payment check.  

    1-team membership affiliate fee - $50 +  $135 membership cost = $185
    5-team membership affiliate fee - $100 + $390 membership cost = $490
    30-team membership affiliate fee - $600 +  $2,250 membership cost = $2,850 (for school districts only)
 

Membership Discounts Available – Please Read!!!

School based teams from the counties listed below are eligible for either free or discounted memberships, due to the generosity and support of the school systems. Teams from these counties should contact their county representative before they purchase memberships through shopDI.

Anne Arundel County – Contact Betty Elder or call  410-222-5430
Harford County – Contact Marcia Cole or call 410-893-0886
 St. Mary’s County – Contact Laura Carpenter  or call 301-475-5511 X142
Washington County – Contact Jessica Reinhard or call 301-766-2992
Wicomico – Contact Susan Bounds or call 410-749-2614

Additional school systems are in the works. Check with your regional director to see if your county may be purchasing discounted membership for its teams.

Project Outreach

Maryland DI will be piloting the new Project Outreach challenge at a special Project Outreach tournament on April 11, 2009 at Washington College in Chestertown. For more information about the tournament, contact Connie Watkins at watkinsc@intercom.net. Teams will need to hold a current DI membership and to register on the new Maryland registration system as well as with Connie Watkins.  There will be no Project Outreach at Regional Tournaments or the State Tournament. One Outreach team will be randomly selected to represent Maryland at Global Finals.

Online Registration for Regional Tournaments, Team Manager Training and Appraiser Registration

Stay tuned for a brand new registration process for all regional tournaments as well as team manager training and appraisers. The system should be available for team manager training by the end of September and for everything else soon after that. The new system will streamline the registration process and allow payment via credit card.


WWhat is Destination ImagiNation?


Maryland DI Photo Gallery/strong> 

Welcome

Destination ImagiNation (DI) is the world's largest creative problem solving program for kindergarten through college-aged learners, going strong in 50 states and over 40 countries. Teams of up to 7 members solve one of six different Challenges, which they perform in front of appraisers at tournaments. DI participants develop life skills while solving challenges through their unique hands-on experiences in the sciences, technology, mechanics, engineering, theater, improvisation, goal setting, time and budget management, team building, and leadership. Our ultimate goal is to teach participants that through their creativity, teamwork, and perseverance, they can DIvelop creative solutions to complex problems completely on their own! For more information on all DI's programs, see the DI, Inc. website at www.idodi.org.

Who can join? Anyone! Your school, PTA, gifted program, Community Ed or after school program, home school group, YMCA or YWCA, Scouting programs, 4H, community organization, your family - anyone up for a challenge and fun!

Each year, over 400 Maryland creative problem solving teams compete throughout the state. Many teams will begin working in September, but others begin the process later in the year. After weeks and months of preparation, the teams will begin competition at the regional level during the months of February and March. There are eight Maryland Destination ImagiNation regions. The winning teams will advance to the Affiliate Tournament, April 18, 2009 at Towson University. The first and second place winners will advance to the global tournament to be held at the University of Tennessee.

Tournament season is getting ready to start. This is the best time to investigate starting DI at your school or organization. Find a tournament near you, contact the regional director for a schedule and spend the day with the brightest and most creative kids in Maryland.  The 2008-2009 challenges will be released on September 1st to all registered members.  For information on how to purchase your membership, contact Affiliate Director, Sally Gold..

 
DI Video
Check out this great video introduction to Destination Imagination, brought to you by DI, Inc.!

Sally Gold
Maryland DI Affiliate Director
410-337-0591

MCPSI Fall 2007 Newsletter
Read it here!

 

Upcoming Events

Team Manager Training Registration

November 8, 2008
 Team Manager Training,
Towson, Maryland

November 22, 2008
Team Manager Training, Crofton Middle School
____________

December 19, 2008
Early Regional Tournament Registration Ends

January 10, 2009
Regional Challenge Master Training,
Towson University

January 16, 2009
Regional Tournament Registration Closes

January 31, 2009
Appraiser Training,
Kent Island High School

February 7 2009
Appraiser Training
TBA Charles County

`February 21, 2009
Appraiser Training
Towson University

February 28, 2009
Snow date for Appraiser Training of February 21, 2009
Towson University

____________

March 7, 2009
Central Tournament
Charles H Flowers High School

March 7, 2009
Eastern Central Tournament
Perryville High School

March 7, 2009
North Central Tournament
 Baltimore Polytechnic Institute

March 7, 2009
West Central Tournament
Clarksburg High School

March 14, 2009
Southern Tournament Tournament
TBA

March 14, 2009
Eastern Tournament
Bennett Middle School

March 21, 2009
South Central Tournament
South River High School

March 21, 2009
Western Tournament,
South Hagerstown High School

April 11, 2009
Project Outreach Tournament
Washington College Chestertown, Md.

April 18, 2009
 State Tournament
Towson University