Sixth
grader Matthew Fox won the annual National Geographic Geography Bee at Windham
Middle School recently and has now qualified for the state geography bee to be
held April 1 at the University of Maine at Farmington.
“I’ve
always had an interest in geography. I have maps and globes in my room. I chose
to do it because thought it would be fun,” Fox said.
Fox
is not the first sixth grader to win the Windham bee, but he is one of the few
to beat out seventh and eighth graders, according to bee coordinator, teacher
Julie Anderson.
The
questions were the luck or unluck of the draw, but for Fox, he was prepared
having studied with his father, a social studies teacher in Falmouth. Each
night, Fox and his father would sit down and do geography flash cards.
Fox
got all seven of the questions in the first round correct. “We thought, he
knows his stuff across the board,” Anderson said.
The
hard questions were the ones with no options and he had to name a country or
capital, Fox said. “Some I knew off the top of my head.” When he called his mom
to tell her the good news, she thought he was out because the bee took less
time than they expected. They celebrated the win with ice cream.
He
is still preparing for the state bee. “I don’t expect to be close to winning,”
he said. “But, I made it that far, so that’s pretty good.” To qualify for the
state bee, Fox had to take an electronic test and be one of the top 100 scores
in the state. The winner of the state bee will go to Washington DC for the
National geography bee.
Fox
is on the Windham Middle School learning team of Stokes/Hopkins/Cook.
Fox
would like to be a United States Marine or a basketball player when he grows
up. “I want to do something that helps America,” he said.
The
WMS runner up was eighth grader Owen Flibbert. “It was very competitive,” said
Anderson.
The
final question was “British Columbia’s largest city hosted the 2015 FIFA
Women’s World Cup championship game. Name this city.”
I
am disgusted by the frequency of stories about criminals abusing children --
whether it’s the monster creating and distributing child pornography, or the
degenerate trafficking those suffering children. But I’m far more
wary of a scenario in which those stories are never published, because those
criminals are allowed to operate with impunity, out of reach of law enforcement
officers who can’t keep up with them.
“This was a bill the
Democrats had sitting around from last session that they had no more use for
and was set to be killed. I thought of the minimum wage issue which was fresh
in my mind from the morning debate in the house and I strongly believe this
deserves more discussion,” said Rep. Austin. “We have all heard from our small
businesses and restaurant workers who have pleaded with us to offer the voters
a sustainable compromise on minimum wage. This bill was a vehicle sitting right
in front of us to do just that. I did this because it’s the right thing to do
for the people of Maine who could see their hours cut or lose their jobs, and
for our small businesses who have also told us how devastating a $12 per hour
minimum wage would be.”
Sixth
grader Matthew Fox won the annual National Geographic Geography Bee at Windham
Middle School recently and has now qualified for the state geography bee to be
held April 1 at the University of Maine at Farmington. 
Once a month, the Lighthouse Knitting
Guild of Maine gathers at the Windham Public Library to work on their latest
knitting or crocheting project, to talk and to learn. As a part of The Knitting
Guild Association, the local group receives benefits from area businesses and
can also be a member of the National guild as well. The biggest perk is the
comradery from like-minded knitters locally. 
Most members work along with the class,
but many bring their own knitting projects to work on when there is free time.
The friendly group welcomes newcomers and is eager to talk about their projects
and show off their work. No one is left out of the conversation. 
Membership dues are $10 for the first
year. They are hoping to have a booth at Summerfest to help raise money for
more speakers and activities. 
When asked who has meant the most in his
education, Jacob said, “I have to say that last year being my first year in RES, the person
that has meant
the most to my education would
be my second grade teacher Mrs. Pennington. She made me feel
so welcome in my new school,
pushed me to learn about everything, and believed in me
that I could do it all.”