Fifth grader wins Turtle Creek Geographic Bee

Back Row, from left: Mr. Patrick Wrubbel, Karina Lopez, Ben Acheson, Jason Hartman, Zachary Lodder, Hailey Ivins. Front Row: Brayan Hernandez, Jacob O’Brien, Samuel Medrano, Daniel Mick, and Samantha Nicholas. (Click pic to enlarge.)

On Wednesday, January 11, 2012, Turtle Creek Elementary School held the final round of its annual National Geographic Bee. The Geography Bee at Turtle Creek begins in each fourth and fifth grade classroom in December with each student answering as many questions as they can through seven rigorous rounds. The top ten students who answer the most questions correctly are included in Championship round.

“One thing I have noticed this year particularly is once students at Turtle Creek were notified about the upcoming classroom competitions, many students on their own accord obtained extra study materials, such as atlases, almanacs, and even requested time to visit the National Geographic website to answer daily questions” said fifth grade teacher Patrick Wrubbel, coordinator and moderator of the Geographic Bee. “Every year this final competition seems to get a little more competitive and exciting. It has really developed into quite a contest when you have the entire fourt and fifth grade, along with parents, intensely watching these 10 students battle it out over some pretty difficult questions.”

The ten finalists at Turtle Creek were: Daniel Mick, Grade 4; Samuel Medrano, Grade 4; Samantha Nicholas, Grade 4; Jacob O’Brien, Grade 4; Karina Lopez, Grade 5; Ben Acheson, Grade 5; Brayan Hernandez, Grade 5; Jason Hartman, Grade 5; Zachary Lodder, Grade 5; Hailey Ivins, Grade 5.

At the end of competition, third place went to Daniel Mick, second place to Hailey Ivins, and first place to Zachary Lodder.

Zachary will now take a written test and will be notified if he qualifies for the state competition.

According to its website, The National Geographic Bee “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.”