Newtown Middle School students competed in the final school round of the National Geographic Bee on Tuesday, January 13.

After six rounds and a final championship round, Jackson Hebner was named as the school’s champion.

To participate in the geography bee — which was held after school ended before family, friends, and teachers in the school’s auditorium — students competed in their clusters against their fellow students. As NMS social studies teacher Shari Oliver explained, the “ten amazing students” all competed against roughly 95 other students to be named as their cluster’s champion.

Students who participated in the final competition, along with Jackson, were Jacquelyn Matthews, Justin Halmose, Tim McCarthy, Reed Hammond, Michael Arena, Nick Jacobs, Anna LaBanca, Evan Wologodzew, and Lauryn Heller.

NMS Principal Thomas Einhorn acted as the moderator for the event, asking questions and describing the directions to the students.

The National Geographic Geography Bee takes place in schools across the country, and each school’s winning student goes on to complete a test to determine whether they will compete at the state level. Students who progress past the state level will continue on to the national level, where they could potentially win a $25,000 scholarship and an all-expense paid trip to the Galapagos Islands.

Reed Intermediate School also held a National Geography Bee competition on Thursday, January 15.

One sample question, provided by National Geographic, reads, “Which state is known as the Peach State because peaches are one of its major crops?” Another reads, “To take a rain forest tour and to dance at Rio de Janeiro’s Carnival celebration, you would travel to what country?”

After multiple rounds of questions, Jackson and Nick faced off in the final round. Nick earned a National Geography T-shirt for placing in second, and Jackson earned a T-shirt, a certificate, a trophy, and a medal for his accomplishment.