Schools
St. Luke's 2015 National Geographic Bee Champion
St. Luke's recently held its annual Middle School-wide Geography Bee. Sixth grader Jackson Hart took first place for a second time.
Disney’s blockbuster movie “Frozen” is set in the fictional land of Arendelle, which was largely inspired by the country of Norway. Norway is located on which European peninsula?
Answer: the Scandinavian Peninsula, and sixth grader Jackson Hart got it right—earning his second straight first-place finish in the St. Luke’s qualifying round of the 2015 National Geographic Bee. A previously held elimination round in 5-8th grade classes advanced ten Middle School students to the school-level Bee on Jan. 29. These finalists answered oral questions on geography, competing in the first round of the 27th annual National Geographic Bee.
A series of challenging questions winnowed the ten finalists down to two—Jackson entered the championship round with fifth grader Finn Regan, who took 2nd place overall. In a three-way tie-breaking round, sixth grader JP Ohl won 3rd place. Congratulations to our winners and to all of this year’s finalists:
5th Grade - Finn Regan, Thomas Arnold
6th- JP Ohl, Adrian Antonioli, Jackson Hart
7th- Laura Mercedes and Nick Brown
8th- Hannah Dekkar, Kendall Boege, Jack Maguire
Jackson’s deep base of geographic knowledge emerged beneath a busy flight corridor. “It all started when I began to notice all the planes flying over my head when I lived in London. That fascinated me,” he reflected. “As I learned more about those planes, I started to learn more about airports, too, and I was eager to find out where they all were. Then, every night at dinner, I used the place-mats my family had with maps on them, to find each place. Soon, I knew all the capitals of all the countries in the world! From there the spark grew until where I am now.”
Next, Jackson and other school champions across the nation will take a written test with 75 questions. The 100 students with the top scores in each state will be eligible to compete in their state bee on March 27.
As ‘Bee Master’ for the fifth year, sixth grade World Cultures teacher Merideth Ostrer is impressed by Jackson’s knowledge of geography and cultures. “The chances of Jackson qualifying for the State Bee are very good. He qualified for State last year and went further in the State competition than any other SLS student. He competed marvelously with the top geography minds in our state, finishing fourth overall!” Meredith also feels the Geography Bee has an important place in St. Luke’s Middle School. “It affirms the importance of global citizenship, and shines a spotlight on students who are intrigued by current events, far away places, and other ways of being.”
State winners will receive an all-expenses paid trip to Washington, D.C., for the national championship rounds May 11-13, 2015, courtesy of the National Geographic Society. The first place national champion will receive a $50,000 college scholarship, a lifetime membership in the Society including a subscription to National Geographic magazine, and a trip to the Galápagos Islands.
Jackson’s geographic adventure is just beginning and he thinks everyone should jump on board. “The world is such an amazing place, from tropical Papeete, French Polynesia, to bitter Anadyr, Russia. The world is full of surprises and I encourage everyone to go discover them!”
To test your skills and find out more about the National Geographic Bee visit the National Geographic Society website.
For more photos from the SLS Geography Bee visit the SLS photo archive.
