The Enterprise - White Salmon, Washington

Henkle student heading to state level of competition

In Geography Bee

March 05, 2013

A fifth-grader at Henkle Middle School has been selected to compete in the state level of the National Geographic Bee.

Flavio Trejo won the Henkle Bee back in January, competing against fifth through eighth-grade students. He then took a written test in order to qualify for the state competition.

Flavio's high score on the written test granted him an invitation to the state bee which will be held in Tacoma on April 5. The winner of the state bee advances to the national competition, which will take place in Washington, D.C., on May 20-22 and will be moderated by Jeopardy's! Alex Trebek.

Flavio's teacher David Monnig was impressed, but not surprised that Flavio qualified for the state competition.

"All of Flavio's classmates mention the time in third grade when Flavio made his own world atlas," Monnig said. "He has a photographic memory when it comes to maps."

The yearly National Geographic Bee, which is open to fourth- through eighth-grade students, is affiliated with the National Geographic Society and is sponsored by Google and Plum Creek.