St. Anne student named National Geographic State Bee semifinalist

Tyler Hoffman, an eighth-grader at St. Anne Parish School, Barrington, has been notified by the National Geographic Society that he is one of the semifinalists eligible to compete in the 2018 Illinois National Geographic State Bee.

The contest will be held at Illinois State University in Normal Friday, April 6.

This is the second level of the National Geographic Bee competition, which is now in its 30th year. School Bees were held in schools with fourth- through eighth-grade students throughout the state to determine each school champion. School champions then took a qualifying test, which they submitted to the National Geographic Society.

The National Geographic Society has invited up to 100 of the top-scoring students in each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Department of Defense Dependents Schools and U.S. territories to compete in the State Bees.

To celebrate the 30th annual National Geographic Bee, the cash prize for the top three students in each state has doubled. Each state champion will receive $200, the National Geographic Visual Atlas of the World, 2nd Edition, and a trip to Washington, D.C., to represent their state in the National Geographic Bee Championship to be held at National Geographic Society headquarters May 20-23.

Students that come in second place will receive $150 and those that come in third will receive $100.

The first-place national champion will receive a $50,000 college scholarship, a lifetime membership in the Society, including a subscription to National Geographic magazine, and an all-expenses-paid Lindblad expedition to the Galápagos Islands aboard the new National Geographic Endeavour II. Travel for the trip is provided by Lindblad Expeditions and National Geographic.

Second- and third-place finishers will receive $25,000 and $10,000 college scholarships, respectively.

For information on the National Geographic Bee, visit www.natgeobee.org.

National Geographic will stream the final round of the National Geographic Bee Championship starting May 24 at www.natgeobee.org.

Saint Anne Parish School, as a parish elementary school (Pre-K though 8), is an integral part of the Saint Anne Catholic community in Barrington.

For information, call (847) 381-0311 or visit www.stanneschoolbarrington.org.

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