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News & Photos
Sixth-grader Brad B. Wins the Geography Bee
Contributed By Yann-Sheu
The three-day unit produced twenty-three class finalists who competed in categories such as U.S. geography, U.S. states, continents, map reading, and vocabulary. Typical questions were: “Which city is considered sacred by the followers of three major religions; Mecca, Calcutta, Jerusalem or Rome?” and “Which of these musical styles is not commonly associated with the Islands of the Caribbean; steel band, calypso, meringue, or bluegrass?”
The rounds alternated between oral and written responses. Once time was called for the written response rounds, the audience shouted out the answer.
After eleven rounds, the competition had been whittled down to two final contestants; sixth-grader Brad B. and last years champion, seventh-grader Philip S. In the final round, both contestants were given a question, and if one missed and the other didn’t, then the game was over. The first time both answered correctly, the second both missed, and the third Brad answered correctly. After realizing he was the winner, Brad threw both hands over his head and let out a giant, “YES!”
Brad now has the chance to compete in States, Regionals, and if he’s lucky Nationals with Alex Trebek for a grand prize scholarship of $50,000. In an interview, Brad later remarked, “The hardest part was getting into [the finals].” Then, he added, “Traveling is the best way to learn about other places.” There is no doubt that Brad’s mom, a popular Upper School history teacher, has something to do with Brad’s love of geography.
The three-day unit produced twenty-three class finalists who competed in categories such as U.S. geography, U.S. states, continents, map reading, and vocabulary. Typical questions were: “Which city is considered sacred by the followers of three major religions; Mecca, Calcutta, Jerusalem or Rome?” and “Which of these musical styles is not commonly associated with the Islands of the Caribbean; steel band, calypso, meringue, or bluegrass?”
The rounds alternated between oral and written responses. Once time was called for the written response rounds, the audience shouted out the answer.
After eleven rounds, the competition had been whittled down to two final contestants; sixth-grader Brad B. and last years champion, seventh-grader Philip S. In the final round, both contestants were given a question, and if one missed and the other didn’t, then the game was over. The first time both answered correctly, the second both missed, and the third Brad answered correctly. After realizing he was the winner, Brad threw both hands over his head and let out a giant, “YES!”
Brad now has the chance to compete in States, Regionals, and if he’s lucky Nationals with Alex Trebek for a grand prize scholarship of $50,000. In an interview, Brad later remarked, “The hardest part was getting into [the finals].” Then, he added, “Traveling is the best way to learn about other places.” There is no doubt that Brad’s mom, a popular Upper School history teacher, has something to do with Brad’s love of geography.