Rockville Centre student knows his way around

Fifth grade students at Hewitt Elementary School sharpened their geography skills when they participated in the first round of the 2011 National Geographic Bee, sponsored by Google. This competition, now in its 23rd year, attracts students in fourth through eighth grades in thousands of schools across the United States and in the five U.S. territories, as well as in Department of Defense Dependents Schools around the world. Cameron Sands, a student in Jim Duffy’s fifth grade class, earned top honors when he placed first in his grade. He now has the opportunity to advance to the next level, which will determine state competitors. Cameron’s local success makes him eligible to win the national championship, held in May in Washington D.C., and its first prize, a $25,000 college scholarship.