It pays to pay attention in science class. Especially about bugs.

For Michael Mazzanti, knowing that mosquitoes can spread malaria and other diseases won him the sixth-grade championship trophy in George Washington Intermediate Elementary School’s Jeopardy competition.

Alex Trebek was nowhere in sight, but moderator and teacher Rosemary Maggie competently ran the school’s version of the televised game show.

Remaining calm through regular, double and final Jeopardy, Michael said later that his favorite category was Potpourri, but the hardest was Pattern Play, in which sequences of numbers had to be figured out.

’Let’s play Jeopardy,’ began Maggie, cautioning the audience not to reveal any answers. And just like the TV show, the blue Jeopardy board appeared via computer on a screen on the auditorium stage. There were even Joysticks used as buzzers. All that was missing was the music.

For the players, buzzing in was not permitted until Maggie finished reading the clue.

Vowel Scramble was one domain Ryan Dugan found difficult. He said math is his best subject, while Michael is partial to Social Studies.

In Parlez-vous Francais? the French term was identified, and there were categories for Teammates, Salty or Fresh, Fantas’tic’ and Body by Example.

With their classmates cheering them on, ’reca’ was translated to ’acre’ and the response to ’citta’ was ’What is attic?’

Round one ended with no correct answer for the meaning of faux pas.

’Give the contestants a nice round of applause,’ Maggie coaxed as Double Jeopardy got under way. ’Don’t give up,’ she told all four. ’Anyone could be a winner.’

The assortment for the second round was great and small, Michael’s dreaded Pattern Play, Worldwide Words, Which Came First?, Potpourri and Left/Right.

’Which came first?’ directed Maggie. ’The automobile, bicycle or wheel?’

Leaning into the microphone, Ethan replied ’the wheel.’ Hannah knew the printing press came before a typewriter and computer.

When player four, Michael, hit the daily double, he wagered 1,500 of 7,200 points and correctly responded that a record player preceded a tape player and a Walkman.