Several hundred students demonstrated their knowledge, faith and talents across four annual competitions for middle school students at the Diocesan Center in Harrisburg in recent weeks: the Geography Bee, Spelling Bee, Faith Bee and the Forensics Tournament. The competitions are hosted each spring by the Secretariat for Education.
“Bee season” kicked off with the Georgraphy Bee on March 19, with students demonstrating their knowledge of capital cities, geographic formations and ancient civilizations in oral and written form. This year’s winner was Colin Smith of St. Joseph School in Hanover. Claire Weikert of Holy Name of Jesus School in Harrisburg finished in second place, and Aniyah Sampang of St. Francis Xavier School in Gettysburg placed third.
On March 26, the top spellers from each school competed in the Spelling Bee, which lasted 19 rounds as students took on such words as “colonel,” “monarch” and “adjourn.” This year’s Spelling Bee winner is Abdiel Binoy of St. Leo the Great School in Rohrerstown. Anjali Agarwal of St. Joseph School in Danville, was the runner-up, and Cora O’Neill of St. Patrick School in Carlisle finished third.
The Catholic Faith Bee, presented by the Office of Catechesis on April 9, challenged students with questions ranging from the evangelical councils and the gifts of the Holy Spirit, to naming the 12 Bishops of the Diocese of Harrisburg. This year’s Faith Bee lasted more than four hours with 50 rounds of questions that included long-form and written responses to questions. The grand champion was Chloe of St. Francis Xavier Parish in Gettysburg. First runner-up was Teresa Fair of St. Lawrence in Harrisburg, and the second runner-up was Anna Forestieri of St. Patrick in Carlisle.
The Forensics Tournament wrapped up the competition season on April 23, with more than 80 students from various schools demonstrating their public-speaking skills in persuasive, interpretive and dramatic presentations. The gold medalists, after judges’ scoring, were Harper Johnson of Holy Name of Jesus in Harrisburg, for “Why AI Obstructs Student Creativity” in persuasive interpretation; Brynn Forlizzi and Amelia Hendry of St. Margaret Mary in Harrisburg for their duo dramatic interpretation, “Bun-Gee!;” and oral interpretation co-champions Harper deManicor and Kayden Soliday of Holy Name of Jesus, for their respective presentations, “Sun Dazed” and “The Cat’s Meow.”
Learn more about Catholic schools in the Diocese of Harrisburg at www.GoCatholicSchools.org.
(Photos by Witness staff.)
