Eighth-grader and Arlington resident Chris Stewart (pictured in middle with his medal) won the school's Bee for the third consecutive year and now advances to the state level. Photo contributed
On Jan.12, eighth-grader and Arlington resident Chris Stewart was named The Langley School’s National Geographic Bee champion for the third consecutive year. Chris competed against 10 Langley students in grades 4-8 during the first round of the 29th annual National Geographic Bee.
Sponsored by the National Geographic Society, the opening round of the National Geographic Bee is held in thousands of schools across the country and is the first step toward naming a national champion. During Langley’s competition, contestants were challenged with oral and written geography questions, ranging from the locations of mountain ranges and rivers to the names of cities and countries. Students not only displayed their impressive knowledge of world geography, but also showed great confidence and poise as they competed on stage in front of the entire school.
As Langley’s winner, Chris advances to the next level, a written examination to determine state competitors. The top 100 scorers on this written exam from each state will then face each other in their statewide Geographic Bee, with state champions eventually competing for a $50,000 college scholarship in the national competition in Washington, D.C., in May 2017.
Last month, all of Langley’s fourth- through eighth-grade students were given a preliminary qualifying test prepared by the National Geographic. The two top-scoring students in each grade were then selected to participate in Langley’s school-wide Bee.