5th Grader Wins MS Geography Bee
by Matt Lukach, 6th grade social studies teacher
Recently the middle school participated in the annual national Geography Bee, hosted by National Geographic.
Recently the middle school participated in the annual national Geography Bee, hosted by National Geographic.
Our school has a more-than-decent history with this event, sending a participant to the State Bee every year and even having past students win the State Bee and go on to compete on the national stage in Washington, DC.
The route to becoming the school champion is no easy task. First you must beat out your fellow grade-level students (almost always this requires a perfect seven out of seven in the prelims). After that, you go on to yet another round of single elimination questioning, this time going up against the top two students from each grade level. If you have survived this far, you will then continue on to the "Championship Round," where the questions get a healthy dose more difficult.
Usually, the championship round is something of a middle school-wide spectacle at town meeting. However, this year we were snowed out and forced to scale down the event, putting it in the sixth grade social studies classroom.
The lack of crowds didn't take away from the fierce back-and-forth among the top five participants. At the end of several tie breaker questions, it was fifth grader Luke Dinger who bested seventh grader Michael Gordon to become our school champ. He's no stranger to tense situations when it comes to answering tough questions. As a fourth grader (!) last year, he made it to the championship round.
He will surely be among only a small handful of fifth graders to compete at the State Bee in April. Don't confuse his youth for a lack of confidence; Luke is the real deal, and it will be exciting to see what he does at the state bee. The winning question that solidified his place in USN Geography Bee lore?
The route to becoming the school champion is no easy task. First you must beat out your fellow grade-level students (almost always this requires a perfect seven out of seven in the prelims). After that, you go on to yet another round of single elimination questioning, this time going up against the top two students from each grade level. If you have survived this far, you will then continue on to the "Championship Round," where the questions get a healthy dose more difficult.
Usually, the championship round is something of a middle school-wide spectacle at town meeting. However, this year we were snowed out and forced to scale down the event, putting it in the sixth grade social studies classroom.
The lack of crowds didn't take away from the fierce back-and-forth among the top five participants. At the end of several tie breaker questions, it was fifth grader Luke Dinger who bested seventh grader Michael Gordon to become our school champ. He's no stranger to tense situations when it comes to answering tough questions. As a fourth grader (!) last year, he made it to the championship round.
He will surely be among only a small handful of fifth graders to compete at the State Bee in April. Don't confuse his youth for a lack of confidence; Luke is the real deal, and it will be exciting to see what he does at the state bee. The winning question that solidified his place in USN Geography Bee lore?
This city in contemporary China was once the home of the ancient Forbidden City where the emperor would live in isolation from the rest of society.
If you see Luke in the hallway, I'm sure he'll tell you the answer, and be sure to congratulate him and wish him luck in April.
Top 10 Finalists:
Margherita Moro
Cameron Thompson
Simon Rosenblum
Luke Dinger
Jordan Turner
Leif Clark
Michael Gordon
Zoe Rosenblum
Jude Hoekstra
Lyra Grossman
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2000 Edgehill Ave.
Nashville, TN 37212
Phone: 615-321-8000
Fax: 615-321-0889
Email: info@usn.org
River Campus
1200 County Hospital Road
Nashville, TN 37218
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University School of Nashville models the best educational practices. In an environment that represents the cultural and ethnic composition of Metropolitan Nashville, USN fosters each student’s intellectual, artistic, and athletic potential, valuing and inspiring integrity, creative expression, a love of learning, and the pursuit of excellence.
University School of Nashville models the best educational practices. In an environment that represents the cultural and ethnic composition of Metropolitan Nashville, USN fosters each student’s intellectual, artistic, and athletic potential, valuing and inspiring integrity, creative expression, a love of learning, and the pursuit of excellence.