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By Josh Perry
Hometown Weekly Staff
Pollard Middle School eighth grader Anthony Walsh was recently notified that he is eligible to compete in the semifinal of the 28th annual Massachusetts National Geographic State Bee to be held at Elms College in Chicopee on Friday, April 1.
Walsh was named the school champion at the Pollard Geography Bee earlier this year and took an online qualifying test to be able to take part in the second level of the national competition, which features students in grades 4-8.
The National Geographic Society has selected 100 students who scored well on the online test to compete in the state bees, including Walsh. The state champion will receive $100, “The National Parks: An Illustrated History,” and a medal. In addition, the champion will represent his or her state in the national bee at the National Geographic Society headquarters on May 22 in Washington, D.C.
The final round of the competition will be moderated by journalist and comic Mo Rocca and will air on the National Geographic Channel.
To emphasize the level of competition that the students have had to go through, the announcement gave an example question, “To fish in Lake Winnipesaukee and ski near Franconia Notch, you would travel to which state - New Hampshire or South Dakota?”
The answer is of course New Hampshire, easy enough for middle school students in New England, but the questions got progressively more difficult in each level. Walsh has already proven himself to be a success to this point and will now look to continue that on April 1.
For more information about the National Geographic Bee, visit www.natgeobee.org.
Josh Perry is an Editor at Hometown Weekly. He can be reached at news@hometownweekly.net and followed on Twitter at @Josh_Perry10.
