Keene Elementary School Holds Geography Bee

Fourth and fifth grade students at Keene Elementary School participated in their First Annual National Geography Bee on January 22.

Twenty seven top finishers competed on stage to advance to the final round. When eliminations reduced the group to ten participants, the questions became much more difficult. They were no longer in multiple choice format. These questions had to be answered in currently correct geographic terms. In this round, the finalists were eliminated after two incorrect responses.

In this final round, the two finalists were asked three questions, which they had to respond to on a white board. The first question was tough – neither competitor got the correct answer. At this time, contest coordinator, Denise Hall, asked if anyone in the audience knew the answer. No one did!  This quickly put the two finalists at ease, knowing that these questions were indeed challenging for everyone – students, teachers, and parents.

Brian Klingler, a fourth grader, was the winner knowing that Napal was a small Asia country that is home to eight of the ten highest mountain peaks in the world. Quite impressive!  Vivek Patel, a fifth grade student at Keene, was the runner-up.  Brian had to take a geography test following the bee to determine his eligibility to go on to the State Bee.  His enrichment teacher, Denise Hall, has no doubt that he did very well.  If Brian advances to the State Bee, he will compete against students up to eighth grade. We wish him luck!