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Bee drills students on geography
By MICHELE MILLER © St. Petersburg Times, published January 17, 2001 NEW PORT RICHEY -- The scene is playing out at schools throughout Pasco County -- and the rest of the country, for that matter: Students, some squirming in their seats and perhaps looking a little baffled, are testing their world knowledge in the annual Geography Bee. To be sure, the bee, sponsored by the National Geographic Society, is a tough one that often stumps even the adult onlookers in the crowd. At Mittye P. Locke Elementary School, some 10 classroom finalists took to the stage Thursday to compete for the top school slot. Fifth-grader Jackie Fuentes said that she felt a little nervous beforehand. While she had done well in the classroom competition -- "I almost got them all right" -- the questions in this round were guaranteed to be tougher. Jackie was eliminated during the second round, but three others -- James Skala, Ryan Collins and Hanna Humienny -- hung on for a good part of the competition. When it came to the finals, it was down to James and Ryan, both students in Ms. Linda Augsbach's class. Ryan, who said he "studied all the countries and cities on my globe at home" the night before, ended up being the top finalist. After taking a written test, he'll be in competition for the state award. The top 100 winners from that competition are then eligible to participate in the National Championship to be held in May in Washington, D.C., and vie for a $25,000 scholarship. Fourth-grade teacher Joyce Brown coordinated the school event. Retired teacher Miriam Walka served as moderator. "I think they're wonderful," said Ms. Walka, who oversaw the annual bees for 15 years during her tenure at Locke Elementary. "The kids usually do well in the preliminary round, but then the questions get tougher, even for adults. Unfortunately, we're not very geography-minded any more." While students should be acquiring the knowledge over their years in school to compete in the Geography Bee, Ms. Walka did have some advice for those who have yet to compete. Students should review their map skills, historical knowledge and current events, she said. "And reading the newspaper is something we all can do to study for this," she said Classroom winners from Locke Elementary were: Brittany Motto, Kalan Palmer, James Skala, Ryan Collins, Morey Reinblatt, Jackie Fuentes, Kristi Goodwin, Hanna Humienny, Aaron Wise-Teske and Tehra Griffin.
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