100 Mile House Elementary School teachers Jim Price and Sally Morgan read off questions and students hurried to jot down the – hopefully correct – places for answers during an annual, nation-wide geography contest on Jan. 23.
Thirty students from grades 4-6 and 24 students from Grade 7 qualified in the classroom portion of the 2014 Great Canadian Geography Challenge, a friendly competition millions of students have participated in since its inception 20 years ago.
Laura Dewsbury was the Grade 4-6 overall winner this year. Owen Pincott won gold, while Owen Ross and Harmony Kotchea tied for silver. Ryan Balbirnie won bronze.
In the Grade 7 category, Hayden Sass was the overall winner and will write a qualifying exam for the provincial challenge sometime before Feb. 27. Gawen Pinkett won gold, while Andrew Arnott won silver and Allyson Watson and Hayden Prodnuk tied for bronze.
The questions ranged, and dealt with, subjects such as animals, colours, food and sports in relation to locations, Price explains.
“They try to get the kids thinking. It's not just capitals and countries. There's a lot more to geography than just that.”
He adds there was a good mix of English and French program students participating.
“I think the kids had a fantastic experience. I heard a lot of positive comments from parents. I think everybody should be congratulated.”