Geography Champ Named at Saint Bernard School

Ross Blinderman, a seventh-grader at Saint Bernard School in Uncasville, was named school champion for the National Geographic Bee on January 30th.

“It’s really exciting. I feel like I sort of got revenge for last year,” said the seventh-grader from Norwich who was the first runner up in the 2015-2016 school year.

To prep for the final round, Ross said he reviewed material with his uncle who is very knowledgeable in geography. “We looked at U.S. maps for about 6 hours,” he said, adding it was a strategy that paid off.

“Last year I focused more on world maps, but this time I thought maybe I should spend more time studying the United States,” he said.

As Saint Bernard’s school champion, Ross will receive a certificate and medal. He will also take a written qualifying test administered and scored by School Bee Coordinator Susan Evento. The100 top ranked students in each state qualify to represent their school in the state Bee on March 31st.

Eighth-graders Jay Lin and Ryan Proulx came in 2nd and 3rd place, respectively. They were among the 10 students who competed in the preliminary school round in early January.

The National Geographic Bee is a competition for public schools, private schools and homeschools. The contest is open to all students in grades four through eight.

The state champions attend the national championship in Washington, D.C., held in May.

The winner of the National Geographic Bee finals will receive a $50,000 scholarship, a lifetime subscription to National Geographic magazine, a Galapagos trip, and $500 cash. The second-place winner receives a $25,000 scholarship and $500 cash. The third-place winner receives a $10,000 scholarship and $500 cash. The fourth- through 10th-place winners receive $500 cash each.