A seventh-grader, Jacques won the schoolwide Geography Bee at Biddeford Middle School in January and then was among the top scorers in the state on a national geography test which qualified him to participate in the state finals at University of Maine, Farmington on April 6. At stake is an opportunity to contend for the National Geographic Bee championship in Washington, D.C. in May.
Every year thousands of schools in the United States participate in the National Geographic Bee which is intended to spark student interest in the subject and increase public awareness about geography. The contest is open to all students in grades 4 to 8.
The National Geographic Bee winner receives a $50,000 scholarship, a lifetime subscription to National Geographic magazine, a trip, and $500 cash.
The second-place National Geographic Bee winner receives a $25,000 scholarship and $500 cash. The third-place National Geographic Bee winner receives a $10,000 scholarship and $500 cash.
Eighth-grader Pranay Varada of DeWitt Pewrry Middle School in Carrollton, Texas, won the 2017 National Geographic Bee in the eighth round by correctly identifying that the Kunlun Mountains separate the Taklimakan Desert from the Tibetan Plateau.
If he’s successful in the state competition, Jacques will have done something no other Biddeford student has accomplished by winning the Maine Geography Bee championship.
Since its inception in 1989, there has not been a winner from Biddeford, although Saco’s Vincent Falardeau captured the state title in 2014 and Matthew Chase of Wells was the 2015 Maine champion.
According to Jacques, his favorite subjects in school are engineering and humanities and he’s undecided about what he wants to do for a career when he grows up.
To win his schoolwide competition at BHS, Jacques correctly anwered questions in Cultural Geography, Economic Geography, Across-the-Country, Around-the-World, Science, Geographic Comparisons, Physical Geography, and Odd-Item-Out which is a category where contestants are given three choices, plus a description.
To prepare for the state finals, Jacques has been studying maps to know locations of countries and continents, islands, major water bodies, and major physical features and landscapes.
He’s also memorizing world and state capitals and learning basic earth facts, including the highest, lowest, and deepest points around the world and continues to read the newspaper and magazines to stay up-to-date with major news events happening around the world.
And in case you were wondering, the capital of Sengal is Dakar, the Kishinev Cathedral can be found in Moldova and New Zealand exports the most butter every year to other counttries around the world.
— Executive Editor Ed Pierce can be reached at 282-1535 ext. 326 or by email at editor@journaltribune.com.
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