Manchester Elementary School held a final round of its School GeoBee this week. Sponsored by National Geographic, the GeoBee is a geography competition that challenges students in grades 4th through 8th grade to answer questions about geography around the world, everything from culture geography, to economy, science, and physical geography.
The Manchester Elementary School GeoBee was moderated by Maranacook Elementary Gifted and Talented Coordinator Victoria Scott and hosted by Manchester Elementary 4th grade teacher Jenniger Galletta. Parents, teachers, community members, and classmates were all in attendance at the momentous event during which strict rules were outlined for audience members ensuring contestants could concentrate and participate according to national GeoBee standards.
Nine students from 4th and 5th grade participated in the school’s final GeoBee by answering a series of questions provided by National Geographic. Providing their answers both verbally and in some cases in writing, or by circling a location on a map, the competition featured three rounds that eliminated students at the end of each round until one remained.
The schools top three winners were:
- 1st place: Lydia Garofalo, 4th grade
- 2nd place: Joshua Herzing, 4th grade
- 3rd Place: Brennan Boyd, 5th grade
Lydia will go on to take the state qualifying test provided online by National Geographic. If she qualifies, she will go on to the State GeoBee set to be held on March 27th this year. A national championship will be held in May.
Schools across Maine and the United States are also in the midst of participating in this exciting competition by wrapping up their final school GeoBee events this month. Maine Department of Education’s Social Studies Specialist Joe Schmidt is scheduled to moderate at the state competition this spring.
For more information about GeoBee, visit the National Geographic website.
This article was written by Maine DOE staff Rachel Paling in collaboration with Manchester Elementary School as part of the Maine Schools Sharing Success campaign. If you have a story to share or an idea for the campaign, email Rachel at rachel.paling@maine.gov.