On Friday afternoon, sixteen of our 8th Grade students competed in the final school round of the National Geography Bee in order to determine who would represent Wheatley in the next round of the competition.
The event was the first round in the annual National Geographic GeoBee, a geography competition designed to inspire and reward middle-level students’ curiosity about the world. Questions cover not only geography, but also cultures, physical features, history, and earth science. The contestants answered increasingly difficult questions about five themes of geography in seven rounds that included favorites such as “Weird… But True!” and “Odd One Out” before several students advanced to the final rounds.
After in-class preliminary rounds (held in Social Studies 8 classes), the following sixteen students qualified for the Wheatley Final Round:
- Amir Agarwal (GT)
- Rachel Aquino-Okeke
- Skye Blau
- Grant Callahan
- William Caroddo
- Daniel Dayter
- Michael Emouna
- Neha George
- Tobey Hirsch
- Sonia Patel
- Grant Peterson
- Andrew Pinto
- Tyler Richman
- Zachary Samuel
- Lauren Tavolacci
- James Tercynski
Congratulations to Grant Peterson, this year’s Geography Bee champion! Grant outlasted Daniel Dayter and Sonia Patel in a nerve-wracking final round. Grant will now have the opportunity to take a qualifying test for the State GeoBee, which will be held in Albany this coming March.
Thank you to Dr. Scott Eckers, our Social Studies Chair, for hosting the final round. Thank you as well to all of the 8th Grade teachers (Mr. Michael Haig, Ms. Courtney Clarake and Mrs. Gina Topping) for supporting this competition in their classrooms.
