“What empire, stretching from the Pacific Ocean to Eastern Europe during it’s zenith in the 13th century A.D., used the ancient city of Karakorum as one of its headquarters?” Most people would become confused and give up on this year’s final question in the geography bee. But then again, most don’t know what a geography bee is. Every year, Canyon Vista’s Social Studies Department hosts a geography bee. Students who wish to participate take a pretest in advisory. Then, the Social Studies teachers take the top students from each grade level to advance, depending on the number of questions answered correctly. From the preliminary rounds, 3-4 students move on to the final round, where they are then eliminated one by one.

The bee was held on Friday, November 21st in the cafeteria for 8th graders, the lecture hall for 7th graders, and Room 326 for 6th graders, starting at 8:20 AM. The final round was held in the cafeteria. The bee takes all the Social Studies teachers in Canyon Vista to organize and supervise. “This year was awesome!” exclaimed Mr. Waghorne, Texas History and US History teacher. “We almost ran out of questions because contestants got so many right!”

Andy Tutuc, a 7th grader, took first in the bee this year. “I put a lot of work into it,” Tutuc said. “I’m very proud. It’s something that I’ve been working on for many years, so it’s obviously a great accomplishment.”  Saavan Myeni, a 7th grader, received second place and 8th grader Harsha Jandhyala placed third. Tutuc will be taking a qualifying test consisting of 70 multiple choice questions. The top 100 students in Texas will then move on to state, and the student who wins 1st place there will advance to nationals. “Our campus winner has a great chance of competing against other winners in the national bee.” Mr. Waghorne said. Canyon Vista wishes Andy good luck in the qualifying test!