From diflnews at floridadi.org Thu Oct 28 22:38:59 2021 From: diflnews at floridadi.org (Florida DI News) Date: Thu, 28 Oct 2021 18:38:59 -0400 Subject: [DIFLnews] November Newsletter In-Reply-To: <00fb01d7cc4c$6459b360$2d0d1a20$@gmail.com> References: <00fb01d7cc4c$6459b360$2d0d1a20$@gmail.com> Message-ID: Greetings! Come visit Florida DI at Maker Faire in Orlando, November 13 and 14. We invite you to build a "Tall Tower" or create a "Climbing Critter" for us. Our challenges are bagged this year, so that you can work at our site or bring them home to minimize contact. Our volunteers are vaccinated and will be masked, so that you can enjoy the challenges. This information is from Destination Imagination , and I think the points are well stated: "With everything going on, it might seem easier for you to put extracurricular activities on the back-burner. That would be a missed opportunity. Extracurriculars like Destination Imagination are more critical than ever and help us to actively support our children's mental health, improve their student achievement, and re-establish normalcy. Here are just five ways DI can help: 1. Social Connections: We have all felt the impacts of isolation-but it was worse for our children. When we make space and time for social connections, it can reduce our anxiety and depression, help regulate our emotions, and even improve our immune systems. 2. Critical Thinking: This is an underrated skill that deserves more attention. Without critical thinking, we lack the ability to analyze information and make well-reasoned decisions, which are needed to solve complex problems. 3. Collaboration: We do everything better when we do it together. Collaboration not only helps us produce more creative and effective ideas, but gives our self-confidence and self-esteem a nice, healthy boost. 4. Adaptability: Nearly two years ago, unpredictability took on a whole new meaning. Though we cannot prepare our kids for every unique challenge they will encounter, we can help them develop the ability to adapt and face new challenges head-on without feeling so overwhelmed. 5. Voice and choice: Too often, children remain in a space between compliance and engagement when they're at school and don't get the opportunity to explore and further develop their passions. If we want our children to be creative, self-directed learners, we need to give them more voice and choice. Our children need support, they need relationships, and they need healing. We can help you make that a priority." Also from Destination Imagination: "Along with our Affiliate leadership, health officials, and local representatives, we are keeping apprised of all updates to the Covid-19 pandemic. Health and safety protocols (masks, social distancing, capacity restrictions) will be made on an as-needed basis based on the local conditions for each tournament. We understand that pandemic conditions can change very rapidly, and we remain committed to tailoring our safety strategies based on what is required and recommended during our tournament season." Florida DI is committed to the health and safety of our participants and we are following relevant recommendations. Florida DI is planning for a return to live tournaments next spring, of course depending upon CDC recommendations. At this time, we are planning to hold our state tournament at Park Maitland School in Maitland, Florida on March 26, 2022. For more reasons DI might be great for your child, our PARENT page will inspire you. To excite your student, have them check out this year's CHALLENGE PREVIEWS . Ready to get started, but unsure how, START A TEAM will lay out your steps. If you want more information from a real person, sign up for a short INTRODUCTORY WEBINAR . We hope you are having some fun with the Instant Challenges that we have been posting on our FLDI facebook page. Remember, we're just an email away at information at FloridaDI Please do not hesitate to ask for assistance. Our best wishes for your continued health and safety, and we look forward to working with you to provide your children with a great creative educational experience this season. Erica Bowler Affiliate Director Florida Destination Imagination www.floridadi.org information at FloridaDI.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image001.png Type: image/png Size: 29119 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image002.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 4878 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image003.png Type: image/png Size: 13439 bytes Desc: not available URL: