On Thursday, March 28, 2024, the Social Studies Department hosted a Geography Bee. The competition took place in the Middle School Media Center. In order for the 7th and 8th grade students to participate, they had to at least score a 24/30 on the qualifying test. This test was administered in their regular Social Studies class. The host of this event was Mr. Steiner and the judges were social studies teachers: Ms. Hairston, Ms. Reitter, and Mr. Lindsay.

Students were able to watch the Geography Bee from their classrooms because it was live streamed by the Tv Production Teacher, Mrs. Irvin. Parents were invited to the WTMS Media Center to watch their kids at the Geography Bee.

There were eight rounds in the Geography Bee with 32 participants. Each student had to answer one question per round in order to move on to the next. If the student got two questions incorrect they were eliminated. The students also had a “pass” option but that would count as an incorrect answer.

Students and teachers really enjoyed the Geography Bee. Ms. Donohue, 7th grade social studies teacher stated, “I am so proud of how all of the students performed. We really had an amazing competition.” 

“It was really cool to see how far all the students really came!  My students and I watched during our class periods and they were really into the competition,” described Ms. Parzanese, 7th grade ELA teacher.

The categories in the Geography Bee were The United States, Team Turf, The Odd One Out, Weird But True, World Comparisons, Nat Geo Wild Animals Atlas, Pop Artist on Tour, and the final round was a mix of categories.

John Harrison, geography bee participant explained, “The questions were easy at first, but got a little more difficult over time. Round seven really stumped me, it was something like “where did some artists perform in Europe?”. The bee was pretty fun though. I think we should do it again!”

The winner of the Geography Bee was eighth grader, Jeydrian Negron. He won a $25 Visa Gift card and a trophy that was made by Ms. Lepre, the Robotics STEM teacher, using the 3D printer. The questions were created by National Geographic.