Jordan Mirabile
Jordan Mirabile probably doesn’t ever have to worry about using a GPS or getting lost. Jordan, a Grade 7 student at The Stanwich School, recently won the school’s geography bee and qualified to compete in the 2017 Connecticut National Geographic State Bee at Central Connecticut State University.
The event in New Britain on March 31 was the second level of the National Geographic Bee competition, now in its 29th year. Students in grades 4-8 across the country participated in school bees, and the 100 top-scoring students in each state were invited to their state’s bee. The Connecticut state competition started with 100 students separated into 5 preliminary round groups of 20 students each.
According to Jordan’s mother, Joan Mirabile, “In this preliminary round, Jordan answered seven out of eight questions correctly and proceeded to the second round.”
In the second round, there were three slots open for the Top 10 Finalists, as seven students had answered eight out of eight, thus automatically qualifying for the podium. Jordan competed with 20 others for the last three slots. This group went through a single elimination question period. At the end of six rounds of questions, Jordan and three other students remained – all still vying for those three spots on the final podium. Jordan missed the next question and therefore missed placing in the podium for the Final 10.
“To put the #11 positioning statewide into perspective we were advised that over 10,000 middle school students from all over the State of Connecticut participated in this year’s competitions to decide the Top Ten Finalists,” says Joan. “Still, no easy feat: placing #11 in state is something to be very proud of.”
It is impressive to note that 2017 is the second year Jordan has been competing in the Connecticut State Finals as he has been the Stanwich School champion two years running — first in 2016 when he was in Grade 6, as well as this school year.
Jordan’s map studying isn’t over yet, however. What is his goal for next year? To place in the top 10!
Email news tips to Greenwich Free Press editor Leslie.Yager@GreenwichFreePress.com
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