Local 8th grader to compete in state GeoBee competition

Ask Aiden Thaxton where Kazakhstan is and chances are good he’ll be able to tell you. The 8th grader from North Habersham Middle School in Clarkesville is an apparent whiz at geography. The National Geographic Society named him as a semifinalist in the 2020 National Geographic GeoBee State Competition.

The contest will be held at Georgia College in Milledgeville on Friday, March 27, 2020.

This is the second level of the National Geographic GeoBee competition, which is now in its 32nd year. To determine each school champion, students in grades 4-8 competed in GeoBee competitions in schools throughout the state.

This year, an estimated 2.4 million students competed in the GeoBee, with 8,661 of them becoming school champions. School champions also took an online qualifying test, which they submitted to the National Geographic Society.

Up to 100 of the top-scoring students in each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Department of Defense Dependents Schools, and U.S. territories were invited to compete in the State GeoBees.