Seventh grader Andrew Borecki, two-time Connecticut Geography Bee champion, and Middlesex Middle School librarian Barbara Ivey meet three times a week to study geography. Andrew heads back to the national bee this year.
Darien, Connecticut, USA
There must be something in Darien’s water. For the second year in a row, seventh grader Andrew Borecki took home first place honors in the Connecticut Geographic Bee. This was his fourth year making the statewide event, and he’s also eligible to compete next year.
Michael bested roughly 100 students from across the state to earn $100 and a second chance to win the 24th annual national competition in Washington, D.C. at the end of May. This time around he missed two questions out of 20 — one about where the sport of ulama is now popular (Mexico), and one about the most recent Baltic country to join the eurozone (Estonia). Last year he only missed one — the capital of Morocco (Marrakesh).
“It was exciting to win,” Michael told The Times last year. Michael placed eighth in his first two trips to the states in fourth and fifth grade. His coach and mentor, Middlesex librarian Barbara Ivey, has met with Michael at least three times a week after school to help him hone his skills.
“You have to be a good listener,” Ivey said, adding that the questions often carry a clue within its wording.
Michael will compete against students from 49 states and five U.S. territories, and he is the fifth Darien student to win the state title, which is more than any other Connecticut town.
Jackson Hart, a fourth grader at Ox Ridge, and Nicholas Derby, a fourth grader at Tokeneke, each won the geography bees held at their respective schools and then competed at the state level with Michael after they passed a 70-question exam, scoring in the top 100 in Connecticut.
Perhaps some of Darien’s geography bee success can be attributed to an odd ritual that Ivey picked up while in Mercara, India — a sister town to Darien. One of her hosts decided to smash a coconut as an offering to Ganesh, the Hindu god of obstacles and new beginnings.
By smashing the coconut, they were symbolically smashing any obstacles that would impede them from achieving their goals. The ritual caught on with her students, and for the past six years Ivey and her team continue to crush the tropical fruit for a bit of luck.
Last year’s national winner, Texas seventh grader Tine Valencic, took home a $25,000 scholarship check by naming the country where the Tungurahua volcano sits (Ecuador), and the national park in Nepal where the southern part of Mt. Everest rises (Sagarmatha).
source: http://www.darientimes.com / The News of Darien, Connecticut / by David DesRoches / Wednesday, April 04th, 2012
