Two Hudson teams advance to Global Destination ImagiNation competition

• Hudson Prairie Elementary 4th grade girls team

A team of fourth-grade girls from Hudson Prairie Elementary School is bound for the Global DestiNation Imagination tournament after placing first in their category at the state contest. The girls are, bottom from left, Mady Haines and Sigrid Ellingson; top, Sarah Potter, Emma Olson, Kenzie Drace, Kelly Holm and Maiya Koch. Submitted photo
• Hudson Middle School DI team

Hudson Middle School students Seana Greene, front, Kevin Pelzel, Ty Davis, Erin Coyer and Abby Duerst, back from left, celebrate their victory at the state Destination ImagiNation contest at UW-Stevens Point on Saturday. Submitted photo

Talk about it

Two of the seven teams Hudson sent to the state Destination ImagiNation competition at UW-Stevens Point on Saturday will advance to the Global Finals at Knoxville, Tenn.

Selected as the best in Wisconsin in their respective age groups and events were teams from Hudson Middle School and Hudson Prairie Elementary.

The middle school team of Kevin Pelzel, Abby Duerst, Erin Coyer, Seana Greene and Ty Davis competed in the “Instinct Messaging” challenge. Their manager is Roger Davis.

The team’s mission was to write and perform a skit informing the audience about how animals communicate. They also had to design and build a costume depicting their “featured creature.”

Besides being picked to go to the Global Finals, the middle schoolers were awarded a special Renaissance Award for their two-person African elephant.

The state tournament judges (called appraisers) said elephant’s appearance and movements were very realistic.

The team of fourth-grade girls from Hudson Prairie Elementary also received a special award at the state tournament – in addition to placing first in their age group in the “ViDIo Lit Hits” challenge.

“This team displayed exceptional creativity throughout their overall presentation by using DI puns, human props, elaborate costumes and a versatile set,” the judges said in presenting the team with a Da Vinci Award.

The members of the team coached by Melissa Olson are Mady Haines, Sigrid Ellingson, Sarah Potter, Emma Olson, Kenzie Drace, Kelly Holm and Maiya Koch.

The ViDIo Lit Hits challenge is to create a music video that retells a classic story. The Hudson fourth-graders picked the tale of “Goldilocks and the Three Bears” to put in song.

This is the sixth year in a row that Hudson will be represented at the Destination ImagiNation Global Finals in Knoxville. The competition will be held May 20-23.

Tags: education, hudson, destination_imagination, global, finals