Middle School Students Participate in Academic Bees

After winning his geography class bee and then the Sanford bee, Matthew passed a written test and earned a ticket to the state competition along with 71 other school champions. They were divided into three groups for preliminary rounds, after which four contestants advanced immediately. Eleven more, including Matthew, competed in a tiebreaker for the remaining spots.

In the final round, Matthew answered two questions correctly and missed the next two, exiting via double-elimination. But since he had achieved his goal of making the top ten, he and his family celebrated that victory at Waffle House.

Matthew, who got bee tips from last year’s Sanford winner and state runner-up William Zimmer, plans to compete and hopes to place higher in future bees. His family fosters his interest in geography with games like “Ticket to Ride” and “10 Days In…”, and an interest in seashells and where they come from has also helped him gain the detailed geographical knowledge needed to succeed in the bee.

Meanwhile, another fifth grader, Claire Andreasen, represented Sanford Middle School in this year’s Delaware Spelling Bee, held in early March at St. Mark’s High School.

Seventy students competed there for a chance to reach the televised Scripps National Spelling Bee, spelling tricky words like oolong (a variety of tea) and lokshen (a Russian noodle dish).

Congratulations to Matthew and Claire!