BATTLE GROUND — Owen Fleck, a seventh-grade student at Meadow Glade Adventist Elementary School, has won the school’s geography bee competition for the third time. His first win was in 2019 when he advanced to the state competition of the National Geographic Bee as a fourth-grader.
Last year, Malaika Childers, a fifth- and sixth-grade teacher, organized a school-sponsored bee on Zoom with representatives when National Geographic’s contest was postponed. This year, the school learned that it would be permanently canceled. So once again the school went ahead with its own contest.
Parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles logged in to Zoom to watch their loved ones participate. Students watched from their classrooms as teachers logged in.
The event began with a short video introducing each of the contestants. Students then took turns answering geography questions. Contestants were eliminated after their third incorrect answer. When only Owen Fleck and Roegan Jones remained, the bee continued to a championship round. Fleck became the 2022 geography bee winner by correctly answering a question about the Great Lakes. With appreciation for participating, Jones said, “I am thankful I was in the geography bee because I like being ‘friendly rivals’ with my friends.”
