Here’s the buzz
Vincent Burton is the new Telegram Spelling Bee champion
Vincent Burton threw his arms in the air in celebration as he was declared the winner of the 2017 Telegram Spelling Bee Saturday afternoon. His family rushed onstage to embrace him as soon as the trophy was in his hands.
His winning word was “parvitude,” defined by Merriamwebster as “an extremely small or minute thing.” But his win was no small feat; after winning Macdonald Drive Junior High’s bee, the Grade 7 student had to take on 65 spelling champs from 33 schools around the province.
Students from Grade 4 to Grade 8 joined Vincent onstage at Holy Heart theatre Saturday to compete in front of a large, enthusiastic crowd.
In the end, he found himself facing off with Greta Warner, a Grade 8 student in Brother Rice Junior High, who won the bee in 2015.
The competition was tough, he said, but “it all has to end some way.”
In 14 rounds, Vincent said, he didn’t trip over any of the words given to him. He said his parents helped him study the word list leading up to the bee.
“I was really nervous, but really confident,” he told The Telegram.
His effort earned him a cheque for $2,000, a personal trophy and a trophy for his school. He also gained a spot in the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C., in May, where he plans to take his whole family.
Joining Vincent and Greta in the 13th round was Grade 8 student Ranjeevan Ilango of St. Paul’s Junior High.
Grade 5 student Tanish Bhatt of Vanier Elementary made it to round 12.
The bee was broadcast live on The Telegram’s Facebook page. Videos from the bee can be watched at https://www.facebook.com/stjohnstelegram/.