National Geography Bee

The National Geography Society sponsors this educational experience, designed to stimulate interest in the study of geography.  This program begins with a multiple-choice geography test that is given to all students at Farnsworth Middle School.  The results of this test are used to select the 25 students who compete in a preliminary Geography Bee.  Parents are invited to this after-school event which narrows the contenders down to ten finalists.  The ten finalists then go on to a Championship Bee.  All finalists receive a trophy.  The School Champion then takes another multiple-choice exam, which is sent to the National Geographic Society.  If the score on this exam qualifies the student for the State Bee, they are notified to attend the Bee, usually held at the State Museum in March.  The State finalist attends a National Bee in Washington D.C.

National Geography Bee website

Promising Young Writers

This highly recognized eighth-grade program is sponsored by the National Council of Teachers of English.  Students select their "best piece" of writing (either a piece they have already written or a new one they write for the contest) and work on editing/refining it for the competition.  The second piece of writing required for the program is an impromptu writing test that is written to a theme announced by the program.  To support Farnsworth Middle School students who wish to participate, students are given the opportunity for one-to-one writing conferences with the Enrichment Teacher and a Writers Workshop (see Workshops).  The impromptu test is taken in December.  Both pieces of student writing are considered by judges and the entries of the five students selected are then sent to the State representative for the program.  The number of students who receive recognition at the State level is equal to the number of representatives New York State has in Congress.

Young Naturalist Awards

In this contest, students plan an expedition that provides new data, questions, specimens or observations on a topic.  Options include a narrative essay, design of a museum exhibit (on paper only), or essay with field journal entries.  

For more information, visit the Young Naturalist webpage.

THINKQUEST Internet Challenge

In this contest, small teams of students design an educational web site and compete for up to one million dollars in scholarships.  

For more information, visit the ThinkQuest website.