Geography Bee Highlights

By Camille H. and Rachel L., Upper Elementary

The Montessori School held its second annual School-Level National Geographic Geography Bee on January 12, 2012. Over fifty of our fourth through eighth grade students competed in the Bee this year. This is always an exciting event, and teachers are always amazed at the amount of knowledge our students possess in geography. The Bee was enjoyed by all. The top ten finalists included: Rosemary W., Dean H., Meritt W., Lisa S., Camille H., James P., Liam D., Liam McC.-C., Spencer H., and Kevin M. The Final Championship Round was held on January 17, 2012. Third place went to Dean H., runner-up went to Liam McC.-C., and the champion was Meritt W.

The following is an interview of Meritt:

Q. How does it feel to have won the School Level National Geographic Geography Bee?
A. I felt relieved, after nights of studying and sleeping on atlases, that I had at least done well.
Q. How long have you been “into” geography?
A. Well, as long as I have lived. When I went to the doctor’s office, the doctor would test me on capitals of the world to distract me from getting shots.
Q. What were you feeling during the last questions in the final rounds?
A. I did not really care who won, I would have been happy to get that far whether I won or not.
Q. Were all the questions a “no brainer” for you?
A. No, most of them were hard.
Q. Do you think you did well on the qualifying test that was sent to National Geographic?
A. I think I did well.
Q. What is your favorite country and why?
A. France or Nicaragua are my favorites because of their amazing foods and awesome cultures.
Q. Are you proud of yourself?
A. Yes, I am very proud of myself.