<> Volume 18 <> Issue #1 <> California Creativity <> Silicon Valley Region <> Destination ImagiNation® <> www.californiacreativity.org <>

Welcome to the 2006-2007 season of Creative Problem Solving with Destination ImagiNation®.  This program provides an opportunity for kids of all ages to work together in teams, solving exciting challenges with their own ideas and imagination.  Based on the concept of divergent thinking --understanding that there is more than one way to solve a problem-- Destination ImagiNation® Challenges encourage students to build on their strengths and to discover skills they never knew they possessed.

Regional Information Nights

We’ve already hosted several Destination Imagination information nights for parents and students who are interested in learning about the DI program.   If you would like to host one at your school, please contact John Cardosi.

What’s New for 2007

California Creativity has renamed the regions.  Instead of numbers, each region has a unique identifying name.  The former Region 11 is now the Silicon Valley Region. 

The combined national and state membership fees have increased this year.  In order to buy a membership, one must go to www.shopDI.org .  The 5-pak costs $345 and a single membership costs $170.  Teams each get a unique membership number.  Purchasing a 5-pak gets five completely independent membership numbers.  The challenge materials are only available for download after the membership fee is paid.  After purchasing a membership, all online team registration will be done through our California Creativity website, www.californiacreativity.org.  Look there at the “How to Get Started!” story to get more pointers about the membership purchase process.

Website News

The California Creativity website has changed and with it, the regional sites as well.  Please go to www.californiacreativity.org and create a log in account.  This will allow you to access all of the features and will let us know you’re out there.  To access our regional page, click on the white Silicon Valley at the top of the home page.  If you would like to be added to our Silicon Valley Region e-mailing list or if your email address has changed from last year, please click on the name Lauren Bird-Wiser and send an email with the subject “DI email.”  Our calendar is constantly being updated as we confirm new dates and sites.  You can access our calendar at by clicking on the blue Silicon Valley along the top bar.

The California Creativity website is a work in progress: new functions and resources continue to be added.  Please check back periodically to see what’s new.  On-line tournament registration will occur at our state site – that function is currently being tested before it’s opened for general use.  [DIONline has been retired to serve only global-finals bound teams.]

• www.idodi.org   for national DI news and general information
• www.californiacreativity.org  for California DI specifics
• www.californiacreativity.org/region11  for regional DI news and events

The Regional Fee and Tournament

In addition to the National and State fees covered in the membership, our region imposes a per team fee to cover local costs.  This fee of $80 includes Team Manager Training, Appraiser training, the Instant Challenge festival, participation pins for the team members and all tournament costs.  To participate in the regional tournament a team must complete tournament registration in the region with their own unique passport number and unique team name, provide an appraiser volunteer willing to spend two Saturday mornings in February being trained and the entire Saturday of the tournament appraising teams; provide a tournament volunteer willing to work a three hour shift at the tournament; and have paid the regional fee of $80.  The deadline for completion of these items is January 20th, though we will accept payment of the regional fee as late as the Tournament Walkthrough on January 27th, 2007.

This year’s Region 11 tournament is scheduled for Saturday, March 10 at Independence High School in San Jose.  Regional champions will be invited to the California Creativity State Tournament which will be held on Saturday, March 31, in Elk Grove (near Sacramento).  This will have a separate state tournament fee of $100.  All teams going to the state tournament must provide a trained, experienced appraiser and a state tournament volunteer.  The 2007 Destination Imagination Global Finals Tournament will be held, May 23-26, at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.  Details and fee information will be provided to those who qualify.

Team Manager Training

Team Manager training for New Team Managers will be provided in two installments.  The first session “Getting Started and Introduction to Instant Challenges” is designed to get you up and running with your team.  The second session “Solving the Central Challenge” will delve into the details of solving the challenge: how to move the kids along without interfering.  This will not go into challenge specifics but, rather, general techniques that apply to solving any central challenge.  If you have questions about any of our trainings you can contact our Training Coordinator, John Cardosi, at cardosi1@comcast.net or 408-738-4471.  Also, if you would like to host a training session at your school, please contact John.

“Getting Started and Introduction to Instant Challenges” will be held on October 10, Tuesday, 7:00PM to 9:00PM, at Fremont High School in Sunnyvale.   (Note:this is a change of date from an earlier version of the newsletter.)

This training will be repeated November 8, location TBD.  The location will be posted in our event calendar as soon as it is confirmed.

“Solving the Central Challenge will be held on October 18, Wednesday, 7:00PM to 9:00PM, at Fremont High School in Sunnyvale.    If possible, please print out and bring with you a copy of a central challenge.
This training will be repeated November 15, location TBD.  Check the event calendar for the location..

We Need Help!

Organizing a program like Destination Imagination takes a lot of time and effort.  Each year a group of dedicated volunteers puts together everything to provide team manager training, communications, instant challenge festival, tournaments, and more, so that all of our kids can have a wonderful season of creative problem solving.  You will find our contact list with the names and jobs of our hard-working volunteers posted on our website.  But some jobs are still unfilled, and we can always use more help to lighten the load.  We need people to help organize food for the Team Manager Walkthrough and Appraiser trainings, people with experience in marketing to help spread the word about DI to the community and people willing to join the operating committee (we meet the first Thursday evening of each month) in planning and supporting DI in the six counties of the Silicon Valley region.   Contact John Cardosi if you can help.  Please join us in keeping Destination Imagination growing and thriving in the Silicon Valley Region.