Amulya Mummaneni Wins Middle School Geography Bee

New Providence Middle School eighth grader Amulya Mummaneni is the newest winner of the school’s Geography Bee.

The annual competition, which has been run by eighth grade social studies teacher Bette Pieja for the past 20 years, begins in the classroom.

“The whole school participates and they do it in the classroom,” Principal Scott Hough said. ”Then there’s a finalist panel [consisting of the top 10 scorers from the classroom rounds] that compete in front of the whole school.”

Questions for the competition were open-ended, both written and oral.  

“One round was based on a map, which the contestants viewed,” Pieja said on her class web site. “The contestants were narrowed down to two students who competed in the championship round and produced the school champion.”

Mummaneni, 13, said she “feels accomplished” having won the overall competition.

So what are the perks of being the winner? “Bragging rights, a certificate, and she’s eligible for further competition,” Hough said.

Mummaneni also took a written test, which was mailed to the National Geographic Society. Her scores are expected back in the next couple months and will determine if she can compete at the state level this spring.