Three more elementary schools found their best spellers in contests Tuesday, February 16, and Wednesday, February 17. Now those students will begin preparing for the countywide spelling bee.
At Schickler Elementary, fifth-grader Kylee Roberts won the bee Tuesday when she correctly spelled “enfranchise.” Second place went to fifth-grader Paul Gregor. Both will represent their school at the county level. Sixth-grader Kaylee Fenslau was third and will compete if Kylee or Paul are unable to attend.
Jocelyn Jones was named top speller at Elba-Seaton Elementary School after she correctly spelled “suburban” in a competition with 11 of her classmates. Fifth-grader Alex Craig was named alternate for Elba-Seaton.
Jocelyn said she studied the word list provided by her teacher to prepare for the bee. While she felt ready for the competition, she said she was still nervous, especially about spelling in front of an audience of other students.
“It’s harder for me to spell out loud than it is to write it down,” she said. “So I wasn’t sure what letters were coming out of my mouth.”
Alex said she has a trick for calming her nerves: “When I get nervous, I just go to my happy place.”
At Murphy Elementary at Rolland-Warner Middle School, sixth-grader Jessica Pantone won her school’s bee Wednesday when she correctly spelled “patience.” She and fifth-grader Lydia Bontrager will represent their school at the county bee. Fifth-grader Isabella Mirza was named alternate.
Jessica said she studied for the bee by writing words from a study sheet onto index cards. Her plan to prepare for the county bee? “More index cards.”
Lydia said she also studied, but spelling wasn’t the difficult part of the contest — speaking in front of an audience was. “If you look at the crowd it makes you even more nervous,” she said, adding she focused on the judges instead.
The students join those already selected at other schools to attend the countywide bee. Sixth-grader Cody Cruce and fifth-grader Hope O’Neill will represent Mayfield Elementary. Allison Vestbjerg will represent Lynch Elementary. Maple Grove holds its bee today, February 17.
The countywide competition will be Thursday, March 18 at Rolland-Warner Middle School.
The spelling bees, occurring in schools across the country, eventually will determine the competitors for the National Spelling Bee to be held in June in Washington, D.C.
