BUSY LITTLE BEES
Students vie to compete in larger spelling contests
Fourth-grader Kylen Gregg didn’t expect to be able to outspell his classmates at South Lake Elementary School in the Moore district.
Kylen, 10, plays basketball, football and soccer and roots for the Pittsburgh Steelers. A die-hard fan, he has the team’s logo shaved into the side of his head.
But there he was, nailing every word teacher Kara Finch threw his way during a recent mock spelling bee to prepare students for local and regional competitions that could propel them to the Scripps National Spelling Bee.
Transporting. Plantation. Roundabout. Exterior.
Kylen spelled those words and others correctly and turned out to be the last kid standing. He outperformed class champions Kora Kidd and Zy Micue, who previously earned a spot in next month’s school competition.
“I don’t think I’m a good speller,” he
said, shrugging off his performance. “I think I’m gonna try my best and see if I do good.”
Back in November, Kylen was home sick with the flu when Kora finished first and Zy second in the grade-level bee. Lyzi Cheatham was named alternate.
Finch, one of two teachers who coordinates South Lake’s spelling bee activities, said Kaylen has earned a spot alongside his classmates in the school bee Jan. 5.
“Since he was not here the day of and he did so well today I feel like he should have an opportunity to compete in the schoolwide one,” Finch said. “I don’t see why that would be a problem for me.”
Students across Oklahoma are prepping for spelling bee competitions to determine who could represent the state at the 2018 national bee in Washington, D.C., scheduled for May or June.
The Oklahoman Media Company coordinates spelling bees for 50 counties in the state, from the school bees to regionals to the Central Oklahoma Spelling Bee.
Each school registered with Scripps sends a champion and a runner-up to regional spelling bees, with the winner and runner-up from those competitions moving on to the Central Oklahoma Bee.
Just because students are off for winter break doesn’t mean they aren’t getting in their spelling reps.
“While spelling is certainly a focus in the classroom, preparations for the spelling bee are mostly done at home,” said Alesha Leemaster, spokeswoman for Norman Public Schools. “I’m sure there are students who are practicing over the break to prepare for regionals.”
The winner of the Central Oklahoma Bee in March advances to the national spelling bee.
Sonic Corp. and the University of Oklahoma have also been longtime sponsors of the Central Oklahoma Bee and OU hosted the bee for several years. This year’s competition will be at The Children’s Hospital at OU Medical Center in the Samis Auditorium and will be covered live by NewsOK.com.
“I think it’s been amazing to see the kids so excited about having tried and winning something,” said Finch, who is assisted at South Lake by fifthgrade teacher Lindsie Wright. “I’ve seen the kids really work hard and take their time at home to get the words down.”
Oklahoma City Public Schools doesn’t require schools to participate in the National Spelling Bee competition but several are taking part, spokeswoman Beth Harrison said.
“Because of our early break in December, any class and school competitions will be held in January,” she said.
Oklahoma was wellrepresented in last year’s national competition.
Rohan Rajeev, a 14-year-old eighthgrader from Edmond finished second. He would have been the first Oklahoman to win since 1965.
Kindergartner Edith Fuller of Tulsa became the youngest to ever qualify for the national finals. The 5-year-old was knocked out in the preliminary round because her score on the written test wasn’t high enough.