Luke S., an eighth grader, won the National Geography Bee at St. Mary Immaculate Parish School in Plainfield. The competition involves students who answer geography questions provided by the National Geographic Society. Congratulations also go to second place finisher, Joey I., 8th grade, and third place finisher, Shelcy A., 8th grade.
The Geography Bee, now more properly known as the National Geographic Bee, begins at the local school level. School winners then take a special written test to qualify as one of the top 100 students in Illinois to participate in the state level contest on April 6, 2018. Should he win the state competition, Luke will travel to Washington, D.C., to compete against students from across the United States in the national finals May 20-23, 2018.
At St. Mary’s, it all started in fifth through eighth grade classroom bees. The ten finalists, selected after many rounds of competition and an exciting tie-breaker in the 5th through 8th classrooms, were Julian R., Preston B., Josh N., Mikey W., Belle V., Sarah M., and Emily B. Luke won the SMI School Championship where the 10 finalists competed on Dec. 18 at a school assembly attended by all fourth through eighth grade students.
