Atkinson girl to compete in state geography bee Atkinson girl chosen for state competition

From the Eagle Tribune;

Atkinson girl to compete in state geography bee Atkinson girl chosen for state competition
By Margo Sullivan
margosullivan@eagletribune.com

ATKINSON — Kayleigh Larin, an eighth-grader at Timberlane Regional Middle School, has been named a semifinalist in the New Hampshire Geographic Bee. But don't ask Kayleigh for the secret to her success.

"I don't even know how I did this," she said Wednesday, one of only 100 students in the state to make the cut. "Geography's not usually my forte."

Kayleigh, the daughter of John and Anneliese Larin of Atkinson, competes at Keene State College on April 3 for the right to represent the Granite State in the national finals.

Her path to the semifinals began by first winning her school's competition and scoring high on a written test, her mother said.

The National Geographic Society invited the 100 students with the best New Hampshire test scores in the fourth through eighth grades to vie for the state title. The bees are held in all 50 states.

State winners receive $100, an atlas and a trip to Washington, D.C., for a chance to become the national winner.

Kayleigh isn't thinking that far ahead.

"I'm really a little nervous. I don't want to be the kid who gets there and gets knocked out on the first question," she said. "I don't want to be the kid who doesn't know where Paraguay is."

Her favorite subject is language arts.

"I'm a big word nerd," the 13-year old said.

Ironically, Kayleigh outdid her past spelling bee performances in this year's geography bee.

"I guess I did a lot of guessing," she said.

Her mother questioned that analysis.

"Are you really completely guessing?" she said. "Or was it educated guessing?"

Kayleigh estimated half of her answers might have been educated guesses.

"She continues to amaze us," her mother said with a laugh.

Ann Barrett, spokeswoman with the National Geographic Society's press office, said 11 other local students are also New Hampshire semifinalists. They are: Joseph Ronca, a sixth-grader at West Running Brook Middle School; Aiden Masson, a seventh-grader at Gilbert H. Hood Middle School, Brandon Kinnane, a fifth-grader at East Derry Memorial Elementary, and Mia Santagati, a fifth-grader at Grinnell Elementary, all from Derry; Mallika Tiyer, an eighth-grader at Hampstead Academy; Jacob Hudgins, a fifth-grader at Hampstead Middle School; Nathan Mackay-Wright, an eighth-grader at Londonderry Middle School; Joseph Minichiello, an eighth-grader at Pelham Memorial; Steven Beninati, a fifth-grader at Barron School, Sabrina Totty, an eighth-grader at Woodbury Middle School; and Cameron Cain, a fifth-grader at Soule School, all of Salem.

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Sample geography bee questions

Mexico City is located on the site of Tenochtitlan, the island capital of what empire that was conquered by Spanish explorers in the 16th century?

Answer: Aztec Empire

Approximately 40 percent of the population still lives below the poverty line despite an oil and gas boom in which country where Baku is the capital?

Answer: Azerbaijan

You can visit an aqueduct built by the Romans in Segovia, a city located approximately 40 miles northwest of Madrid in which country?

Answer: Spain