St. Anne’s fifth-grade student advances to state spelling bee

When St. Anne’s School fifthgrader Katie Rore decided to participate in the school spelling bee for the second year in a row, she never imagined she’d make it to the state championship.

Now, after coming in as runnerup at the San Joaquin County spelling bee held Wednesday night, she is set to compete at the California State Elementary Spelling Bee on May 12 at the San Joaquin County Office of Education.

“I’m really excited” Rore said. “I was really, really, really happy.”

Last year, Rore participated in the spelling bee but didn’t make it past the written test and did not win the school spelling bee. The loss and a push from her mom made her more determined to come back stronger this year.

“I remember in the first place I did not want to (compete) but then my mom kept pushing me and saying, ‘come on, you did it last year, maybe this year you’ll even win,’ ” Rore said.

According to Lydia Vosti, spelling bee coordinator and fourth-grade teacher at St. Anne’s, this is the first time to her knowledge that a student from the school has ever made it to state.

“We’re very, very happy and proud of Katie because with spelling, the words open up so many roads for us, and the spelling bee helps children develop good study habits and to persevere over their obstacles” Vosti said.

According to Vosti, Rore came out on top at the school’s spelling bee and then excelled at the written test before making her way to the county competition.

“I just remember I was really nervous, and I’m just sitting there saying to myself ‘I hope I get the word right’ over and over again,” Rore said describing her mindset at the county spelling bee.

The county competition was down to Rore and Rohin Prashanth of Wicklund Elementary in Mountain House and Rore misspelled coquette, making her the runner-up.

“It was a really weird word. I was like I’ve never heard this before. This wasn’t on the list,” Rore said.

While she is not totally prepared for the state competition just yet, Rore said she studies quite often with help from her mom.

“My mom is ready to quiz me and she’s been telling how she’s going to make me read the whole dictionary,” Rore said.

Rore said she has no special technique for learning new words, noting that she learns by hearing her mom say the word and then practicing spelling the word out.

Competing in the bee has made learning a more enjoyable experience, Rore said. In addition to spelling, Rore‘s other hobbies include reading, drawing and playing basketball.

Rore is quite the avid reader, which is a key quality of good speller, Vosti saId.

Rore is also a member of the girls basketball team and has been playing since age 8. She is also a cat lover and owns several cats including Pinocchio, Charles and Pixie as well as two German shepherds.