Student spellers taking to the stage
The Telegram is hosting its annual spelling bee today at Holy Heart Theatre in St. John’s.
The competition begins at 2 p.m., and the tension will mount among the 54 students from 27 schools in the province who have travelled to St. John’s to take part.
Each participating school held its own spelling bee for students in grades 4 to 8. The top two spellers from those schools will compete today.
“We’re excited about it. It’s a great chance for the kids,” said Leo Gosse, reader sales and marketing manager for The Telegram.
The winner of the provincial bee and an escort will travel to Washington, D.C., to take part in Scripps’ North American championship, which will be televised on ESPN, Gosse said.
Last year’s winner was Emily Hynes, then a Grade 5 student from Holy Trinity Elementary in Torbay.
“I didn’t expect that I was going to win,” the modest 10year-old said at the time. “It was really weird.” She went on to join 280 other kids at the National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C.
“They really revolve everything around the kids,” Emily’s mom, Lisa Hynes, said of last year’s Washington experience, where she joined her daughter on the trip.
“They treat them like royalty. They are the stars, there’s no doubt.”
Emily will attempt to reclaim her provincial title at today’s spelling event.
Every student who takes part will learn a lot.
They’ll get a big lesson in public speaking as they walk up to the microphone in front of a few hundred people, and their confidence will soar after they’re done.
Plus, their vocabulary skills improve as they practice for the competition, Gosse said.
“Having to go up to that mike is not easy.”
You can spell that B-R-A-V-E.
“They really revolve everything around the kids. They treat them like royalty. They are the stars, there’s no doubt.” Lisa Hynes