Imagine correctly naming continents or countries after hearing only short clues to answer questions about cultural, U.S. and world geography, all while being watched by the entire student body, administrators, teachers and several rows of parents. This is just what Hickory Creek Middle School sixth through eighth grade students did recently when they participated in the 27th National Geographic School Bee. Following this stiff competition, the school champion was sixth grader Ethan Brooks.
Top scorers who qualified to participate in the school bee included sixth graders Ethan Brooks, Julia Owczarzak, llya Johnson and Rebekah Stryjewski, seventh graders Elizabeth Martello, Alec Ogarek (last year’s winner), Jacob Draus and Matthew Ferracuti, and eighth graders Ethan Randolph, Nick Rizzuto and Carter Moore.
Sponsored by the National Geographic Society, the event is held for students in fourth through eighth grades in thousands of schools across the United States, the five U.S. territories and Department of Defense Dependents Schools around the world. The contest is designed to encourage teachers to include geography in their classrooms, spark student interest in the subject, and increase public awareness about geography.
The contestants this year were excited and did an excellent job, with the Geography Bee going seven full rounds before any student was eliminated. The champion of the bee, Ethan Brooks, correctly answered the final question of “Tar sands, found near Fort McMurray, are often extracted by surface mining and are creating jobs and economic growth in which province west of Saskatchewan?” “Answer: Alberta.” The school staff and students were very proud of all of its contestants who participated in the Geography Bee this year.
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School winner Ethan Brooks will advance to the next level of competition, a written examination to determine state competitors. All school champions are eligible to win the national championship and its first prize, a $50,000 college scholarship, at the national championship to be held May 11-13, 2015 in Washington, D.C More information about the event can be found at http://www.nationalgeographic.com/geobee/
