Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Geography bee winner maps out plan for next round

From the Advertiser-Tribune:  Geography bee winner maps out plan for next round

Eighth-grader Pranav Parsi was the winner of the first round of the 2013 National Geographic Bee Tuesday at Tiffin Middle School.

"I am very proud and excited," Parsi said.

About 600 students at the middle school competed in seven rounds of preliminary classroom competitions resulting in 10 finalists who competed in the final round.

Parsi's main goal out of this competition is to have fun and learn more about geography.

"I had confidence, but I didn't think I was going to win," Parsi said.

Parsi was in a deadlock and had to enter in a tie-breaker round with second-place winner Catherine Stover.

After several rounds, Parsi came out on top.

Students were asked a series of questions such as "To visit St. Patrick's cathedral in Dublin and enjoy the Arts Festival in Kilkenny, you would travel to what country?" and "Which Canadian province produces more than half of the country's manufactured goods?"

The other finalists were sixth-graders Mya Alvarado, Kayla Reuter and Gavin Robison; seventh-graders Xavier Noftz, Logan O'Donnell and Browning Riley; and eighth-graders Dathan Liming and Jeffery Morehart.

Parsi received a certificate and a National Geographic Society medal. He also will have his name engraved on a plaque to be kept in the Tiffin Middle School trophy case.
Other contestants all received certificates from the society.

The bee moderator and score keeper was Paula Zirm, gifted education coordinator; reader, Frank Barber of senecacountyradio.com; and time keeper and judge, Joe Moore, director of the
International Cultural Center.

Parsi will have to take a written assessment to advance to the next level of competition to be held at Ohio State University.

For the test, Parsi said he will study and look over National Geographic books.

"Personally, I think that it is great for the students to have the opportunity to express their talents," Zirm said.

Following state competitions, winners will be eligible to win the national championship and its first prize, a $25,000 college scholarship. Host of "Jeopardy!" Alex Trebek will moderate the national finals May 22.

The winner also will receive a lifetime membership in the National Geographic Society and a trip to the Galapagos Islands, courtesy of Lindbald Expeditions and National Geographic.

This is the 25th year the National Geographic Society has held the geography bee for students in fourth through eighth grades in thousands of schools across the United States and in the five U.S. territories as well as in the Department of Defense schools around the world.

The national 2013 bee is sponsored by Google. Tiffin Middle School bee was sponsored by the Office of Gifted Education, The International Cultural Center and TMS.


 

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