Local Students Take on World in Global Championships

Starting tomorrow, teams from around the world will be competing in the  Destination ImagiNation Global Finals competition in Knoxville, TN, including three teams from Prince George’s County and students from Bowie.

The Flying Ostriches—including three students from Bowie, three from Glenn Dale and one from Beltsville—was one of nine teams that Kenmoor Middle School in Landover sent to the Destination ImagiNation Regional Championship, and then one of five that moved on to competition at the state level and qualifying for the global championships.

Led by co-managers Jill Dickey of Bowie and Kate Brett of Beltsville, team members from Prince George's County include Sheetal Dhanapal, Christian Dixon, and Julia Gollin of Bowie; Anisha Hosadurga, Jelani Lyda, and Isaiah Martinez of Glenn Dale, and Cora Enoch of Beltsville.

Kenmoor is the designated school for the Talented and Gifted (TAG) program for the students in the area. They were the only school in Prince George’s County to have that many teams competing at those levels, and the only middle school from the county to advance from the state competition.

As part of their community service goals with Project OUTREACH, the Ostriches held a fundraiser at the earlier this year to raise money for Bowie Citizens for Local Animal Welfare (CLAW), and raised $430 for the organization with their talent show fundraiser.

Two other schools from Prince George’s County have schools advancing to the Global Championship, which will be held in Knoxville, putting students up against over 1,100 teams from around the world. in Greenbelt, and in Laurel will also be part of the competition.

The team has arrived in Tennessee, as chronicled on their Facebook fan page, where they will be sharing accomodations with a Destination ImagiNation team from Mexico.