Five Charles County Public Schools Destination ImagiNation teams advance to the global tournament, scheduled for May 23-26 in Knoxville, Tenn., after winning first or second place at the state competition held April 14 at the University of Maryland Baltimore County.

A team from William A. Diggs Elementary School is also competing at the global tournament after being selected as one of three "wild card" teams among third-place award winners at the state tournament.

Three teams earned first-place state awards – the Blue Crabs team from Mary B. Neal Elementary School, the DI Like Donuts team from John Hanson Middle School and the AC/DI team from North Point High School.

The Neal team earned first place at the elementary level in the World Canvas Project Outreach challenge. Team members are Charles Barley, Chloe Griffin, Nevaeh Griffin, Garrett Hinson, Hannah Kalmus, Jessica Dlamini and Alejandro Rodgriguez. Team manager is parent Sandy Kalmus.

The Hanson team won first place at the middle-school level in the Assembly Required challenge. Team members are Rya Nelson, Adam Park, Adam Roberts, Luke Roberts, Kaitlyn Vance and Alzandra Williams. Team managers are parents Steven and Amy Roberts. The team also received the Renaissance award, which recognizes teams for outstanding design and engineering.

The team from North Point received first place at the secondary level in the Assembly Required challenge. Team members include Nick Essing, Noah Gibson, Abby Richman, Armando Rivera, Anna Schierlmann, Sean Schultz and Ashlynn Stanley. Team managers are parents Michael and Cathy Gibson. The team also received the Da Vinci award, which recognizes team for outstanding creativity.

Two teams earned second-place awards – the MS The DInimates team from Theodore G. Davis Middle School and the Fierce and Fab team from North Point.

The team from Davis received second place in the News to Me Challenge. Members are Mercedee Cooper, Emily Decker, Carsen Essing, Andrew Gausepohl, Hannah McMillen, Gillian Renner and Troi Stubblefield. Team manager is parent Debby Essing.

The North Point team earned second place at the secondary level in the Hold It! challenge. Team members include Bianca Boggs, Arianna Clark, Erin Green, Kylie Green, Ryan Green and Joel Rogers. Team managers are parents Christopher Green and Lisa Clark.

The Stars of the Nation team from Diggs will compete at the global tournament as a wild card selection and earned third place in the Coming Attractions challenge at the elementary level. Team members include Trenton Fergerson, Adara Gamble, Taylor Kennedy, Aniyah Mallette, Matteo Marchi, Almazi Matthews and Mia Penn. Team managers are parents Simonetta Marchi and Lois Shook.

Nine other Charles County teams were recognized for placing in the top five in their challenge area. They are:

• Malcolm Elementary School, Cool Warriors Strike Bak team, fourth place, elementary level, Assembly Required challenge;
• Davis, Davis Deli Meat team, fourth place, middle school level, Assembly Required challenge;
• Henry E. Lackey High School, Team A, third place, secondary level, Assembly Required challenge;
• Milton M. Somers Middle School and La Plata High School, MaJicK HAMS team, fifth place, secondary level, The Solar Stage challenge;
• Piccowaxen Middle School, Angry Pudding team, third place, middle school level, News to Me challenge;
• Matthew Henson Middle School, 7 Broke Girls team, fourth place, secondary level, News to Me challenge;
• Maurice J. McDonough High School, Tea Thyme SWAG! team, third place, secondary level, Hold It! challenge;
• Dr. James Craik Elementary School, Friends team, fifth place, elementary level, The World Canvas Project Outreach challenge; and
• General Smallwood Middle School, MS Team Name team, fifth place, middle school level, The World Canvas Project Outreach challenge. M

Destination ImagiNation is a creative problem solving program for students in grades kindergarten through college and is active in 50 states and more than 40 countries. Teams of up to seven members work to solve different challenges and present their solutions to a panel of judges. Students compete at the regional, state and global levels. For more information on Destination ImagiNation, visit http://www.idodi.org/.

Charles County Public Schools provides 26,700 students in grades prekindergarten through 12 with an academically challenging education. Located in Southern Maryland, Charles County Public Schools has 35 schools that offer a technologically advanced, progressive and high quality education that builds character, equips for leadership and prepares students for life, careers and higher education.

The Charles County public school system does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age or disability in its programs, activities or employment practices. For inquiries, please contact Dr. Patricia Vaira, Title IX Coordinator and Section 504 Coordinator (students), or Keith Hettel, Section 504 Coordinator (employees/adults), at Charles County Public Schools, Jesse L. Starkey Administration Building, P.O. Box 2770, La Plata, Maryland 20646; (301) 932-6610/870-3814. For special accommodations call (301) 934-7230 or TDD 1-800-735-2258 two weeks prior to the event.