John Phipps, an eighth grade student at Middlesex Middle School, won the school competition of the National Geographic Bee on Jan. 6 and a chance at a $50,000 college scholarship.
From left: Geographic Bee winner John Phipps, faculty adviser Barbara Ivey, 3rd place winner Brandon Liu and runner-up Alex DelVecchio
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— an announcement from the Middlesex Middle School Publicity Committee
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The school Bee, at which students answered questions on geography, was the first round in the 28th annual National Geographic Bee.
Seventh grader Alex DelVecchio was the runner-up, and sixth grader Brandon Liu was the third place winner. Other contestants were Skyler Bennet, Anna Burgess, Grace Hand, Sean Huffert, Riya Krishnan, Maya Nalawade and Jack Roberson.
Thousands of schools around the United States and in the five U.S. territories are participating in the 2016 Bee.
The school champions, including John Phipps, will take a qualifying test; up to 100 of the top scorers on that test in each state will then be eligible to compete in their state Bee on April 1.
Geography Bee contestants: Back row: Maya Nalawade, John Phipps, Jack Roberson, faculty adviser Barbara Ivey, Sean Huffert, Alex DelVecchio, Riya Krishnan Front row: Anna Burgess, Brandon Liu, Grace Hand and Skyler Bennet