DMS student advances to state level in geography bee

DAVISON — Davison Middle School student Jake Ellis will compete in the 2010 Michigan Geographic Bee April 9 at Western Michigan University.

Jake is the first Davison Middle School student to become a state semifinalist in the geography bee in the past 15 years — or maybe ever.

“Never in all my years of having pretty smart kids has anyone ever continued to compete at the state level,” said teacher Jan Crawford, who has organized the school level of the geography bee at Davison Middle School for the past 15 years.

Jake, along with fellow Middle School students Kayla Tear, Taylor Bradsher, Madison Schmidt and Lynsey Masters competed in the schoollevel geography bee. Students had to answer such questions as:

1. Fort Ticonderoga, originally built in the 1750s by the French, is located in the Lake George region of which state - Maine or New York? (New York)

2. Turkish and Greek are the official languages of an island country located in the Mediterranean Sea. Name this country. (Cyprus)

3. Name the European country where a large percentage of the population lives in the Rhine- Ruhr region. (Germany)

4. Name the cold ocean current that meets the warmer Gulf Stream along the east coast of North America. (Labrador Current or the Arctic Current)

In order to become a state semifinalist, Jake had to take a written qualifying test, which was submitted to the National Geographic Society. Students with the top 100 scores from each of the 50 states are invited to compete at the state level.

The state winner will receive $100, the National Geographic Collegiate Atlas of the World and a trip to Washington, D.C., where he/she will represent Michigan in the national finals May 25-26. — G.G.