Port Jefferson students put their knowledge of geography to the test as they participated in the early rounds of the 26th annual National Geographic Society’s Geography Bee. Students in fourth through eighth grades in thousands of schools across the U.S. participate in the 2014 bee, sponsored by Google.
At Edna Louise Spear Elementary School, fourth- and fifth-grade Studies Enriching Academic Learning students competed in a preliminary bee, facilitated by SEAL teacher Janelle Bellotti. Participants answered oral questions that tested their knowledge in the areas of cultural, economic and physical geography, plants and animals, geographic comparisons and more. Hailey Hearney, Aaron Held, Jack Reilly, Lucas Welinder and Peggy Yin had the most points and advanced to the final rounds, where Lucas was named champion of the school-level competition.
Port Jefferson Middle School teacher Philip Giannusa organized a similar bee, which was open to all students in grades six through eight. Participants were quizzed on U.S. geography, cities, historic places, continents and world geography. Eighth-grader Leland Held, who placed second in last year’s school bee, came out victorious with his correct answer about the population of Luxembourg. Tying for second place were sixth-grader Saoirse Cohen and seventh-grader Sarah Hull.
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More than 40 middle school students gave up their recess to participate in the bee, which gave them additional exposure to geographical studies. “The bee is a fun, interactive way to further engage students in an area that is often overlooked,” said Giannusa. “Students will find that their knowledge of geography is an important tool that will help them throughout their academic careers.”
Lucas and Leland have taken written examinations, which will help National Geographic determine the state competitors. Up to 100 of the top scorers on that test in each state will qualify to compete in their state bee on April 4. Winners of the state bee are eligible to win the national championship and its first prize, a $50,000 college scholarship, at the national competition May 19-21 in Washington, D.C.
