2017 Regular Session ENROLLED
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 173
BY SENATOR GATTI
A RESOLUTION
To commend the Kingston Elementary School in Benton, Louisiana, engineering team for
obtaining the highest instant challenge score at the Destination Imagination Global
competition.
WHEREAS, the Kingston Elementary team, led by sponsor, April Murphy, fifth
grade teacher, and Paula Prichard, librarian aide, who served as team manager for the
engineering team and students Turner Hubbard, Jack Ouellette, and Payton Prichard, fifth
grade, Talmadge Wright, fourth grade, and Jersey Shadoin, third grade, received the highest
instant challenge score in the 2017 competition; and
WHEREAS, the instant challenge is one component of the Destination Imagination
team challenge and its content is top secret until each team is called upon to compete and
solve the challenge using the many skills that they have learned working on challenges
throughout the school year; and
WHEREAS, the overall winner of the competition is the team with the highest total
score in the entire event of which the instant challenge is a portion; and
WHEREAS, Destination Imagination, founded in 1999, is a volunteer-led,
educational, nonprofit organization that teaches twenty-first century skills and science,
technology, engineering, and math (STEM) principles to kindergarten through university
level students; and
WHEREAS, in the Destination Imagination construct, teams of students develop
solutions to open-ended challenges presented to them using creative and collaborative
problem solving; and
WHEREAS, through the challenge program students learn and experience the
creative process from imagination to innovation and they learn skills needed to succeed in
school, career, and life, in general, including teamwork, communication, project
management, perseverance, creative and critical thinking, and self-confidence; and
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WHEREAS, each year Destination Imagination releases seven challenges geared to
specific learning objectives in the areas of technology, science, fine arts, improvisation,
engineering, service learning, and early learning challenges for ages four to seven; and
WHEREAS, challenges solved by the teams have both long and short-term
components and the students operating as a team and aside from working to devise a
solution, learn to value each person's abilities and particular strengths; and
WHEREAS, all challenges include a presentation portion, whether rehearsed or on
the spot and the participating teams, once the challenges are announced, have until the date
of their first tournament to work on their long-term component of the challenge; and
WHEREAS, the students at Kingston Elementary School excelled in the instant or
short-term component where the teams do not know the task until the time arrives to
compete, but the team brings the skills learned in the long-term component to approach and
solve the instant challenge; and
WHEREAS, the outstanding students who comprise the Destination Imagination
team of Kingston Elementary School and their adult sponsor and team manager have
excelled in their instant challenge and, in doing so, have brought honor and acclaim to
themselves, Kingston Elementary School, Bossier Parish schools, and the entire state of
Louisiana.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana
does hereby commend the Kingston Elementary School in Benton, Louisiana, engineering
team for obtaining the highest instant challenge score at the Destination Imagination Global
competition.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to
Debbie Gegg, principal of Kingston Elementary School, on behalf of the Destination
Imagination engineering team students and supervising adults.
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
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