Iroquois Middle School student
wins third consecutive Geography Bee
After capturing in-school geography bees, two
Niskayuna middle school students win chance at
competing in state Geography Bee
In January, Geography Bees were held at both
Iroquois and Van Antwerp middle schools as part
of the Niskayuna school district’s participation
in the nationwide National Geography Bee
sponsored by the National Geographic Society.
Celebrating his third win in a row, Jackson
Montryn captured first place at Iroquois Middle
School. Jake Lahut took second place. The other
eight finalists at Iroquois were Greg Cleveland,
Alex Berry, Kate Malcome, Brandon Melius, Nina
Kaledin, Ryan Percy, Mia Dirienzo and Tom Testa.
Connor Chapman was champion at Van Antwerp,
followed by Sonja Dahl in second place. Other VA
finalists were Troy Manchester, Peter Lambert
Luke Miller, Aiden Wolfe, Maura Griffith, Swati
Mehrotra, Clayton Marr and Chao Xiong.
Each year thousands of schools in the United
States participate in the National Geographic
Bee using materials prepared by the National
Geographic Society. The contest is designed to
encourage teachers to include geography in their
classrooms, spark student interest in the
subject, and increase public awareness about
geography. Schools with students in grades four
through eight are eligible for this entertaining
and challenging test of geographic knowledge.
Preliminary competitions were held in all middle
school social studies classrooms, giving all
students an opportunity to participate in both
the challenge and fun of the National Geography
Bee. The winners of each school competition now
go on to take qualifying tests to determine if
they may be eligible for a statewide competition
held in the spring. Two years ago, both middle
schools had students qualify for the state
competition.
