Students Shine in Geography Bee

Spanish-syle adobe homes can be found along the Rio Grande, near the largest city in New Mexico. Name this city.

The Teapot Dome oil fields are located near the city of Casper and the North Platte River in what US State?

Wisconsin's most populous city was a center for German immigration beginning in the 1840s through the 1900s. Name this city.

The Hague, home to the International Court of Justice, is a city on the west coast of which European country?

On Friday, January 24th, several students on the Upper Campus faced these questions and others during the finals of the RCS Upper Campus Geograpy Bee. Upper Campus students, teachers, and parents filled the Playhouse to watch the nine student finalists take part in this annual competition, which is conducted by the National Geographic Society, and is designed to encourage teachers to include geography in their classrooms, spark student interest in the subject, and increase public awareness about geography. The questions, which were read by Upper Campus Head Bill Barrett, covered both US and World geography. After several rounds of questions, the field was narrowed to two finalists: 5th grade student Zack Breault, and 8th grade student Ben Hirsch, with Ben emerging as the winner. Congrats to Zack and Ben for answering some tough questions -- and congrats to Ben for winning the Bee!  

Ben, as Ripp's representative, then sat for the state qualifying test and his results were sent to the National Geographic Society in Washington, D.C. In mid-February, letters will be sent to the teachers of the 100 top-scoring students in each state notifying them that their students qualified to compete in the State-level Bee. This competition takes place in April in Albany.

Each of the finalists did a fantastic job and put forth a great effort, and we salute them all!