Tolland Students Participate in Geography Bee

In January, Tolland Intermediate School and Tolland Middle School held their local geography bees.

The intermediate school title was taken by fifth grader Eric Hohenthal. Fifth graders James Deffely and Sydney Lewis finished a close second and third place respectively.

At the middle school, eighth grader Charles Perosino won, and eighth grader Dalton Lotz, last year’s school winner, finished in second place.

“Both students performed admirably, answering questions that had many in the audience stumped,” said Social Studies curriculum department coordinator Ian Polun.

According to Polun, both schools use the same questions, so the competition was even more difficult at TIS given that the questions that were used challenged most middle school students.

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Some of the questions the students had to answer included:

• In which state would you find the Rainy River and the Lake of the Woods?
• In which Canadian province would you find the city of Churchill?
• Aside from Argentina, do you know in what country the Yaghan, a nomadic tribe, can be found?

Each of the school winners has also taken a written test for qualification in the state-level bee. Up to 100 of the top scorers in Connecticut will compete in the state bee on April 5.

The state champion will receive an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C. for the national championship rounds in May. The first place national winner will receive a $25,000 college scholarship, a lifetime membership in the National Geographic Society, and a trip to the Galápagos Islands.

“Everyone associated with Tolland Public Schools is proud of our winners and runners-up,” Polun said. “We wish them the best of luck in their attempts to qualify for the state and national bees, and we look forward to their continued excellence throughout the school year.”