Sacred Heart’s Vilamaa Qualifies For State Competition
By ALLISON VANOSDOL
Guest Writer
Every year, each elementary school holds its own Geography Bee. Sacred Heart School’s sixth-grade student, Dawson Vilamaa, is the winner of the school Geography Bee and will now be competing in the statewide contest in Indianapolis on April 5.
After coming in first and passing a 70-question test to enter the statewide competition, Dawson has the chance to go up against some of the smartest students in the state to prove why he is in the top 1 percent of the county.
Thousands of students in the United States take this test every year. It is designed to help encourage teachers to do more with geography in their classrooms and to help spark the students interest in the subject.
Dawson, one of the 100 students who will be competing in the contest, has worked extremely hard for this. Ever since he found out he will be attending this competition, he has put in a lot of effort to try to win.
“I have studied and practiced for at least half an hour each day since I found out that I was going to the state geography bee,” he explained. Dawson also said it feels good knowing he is in the top 1 percent and has a chance to go to Washington, D.C., May 20-22.