Spelling Bee
Date: Saturday, February 21, 2009
Place: Bear Valley Church, 10001 West Jewell Avenue, Lakewood
Time: 9am-Noon (please plan on arriving at least 30 min. early)
Cost: $12 per student
Who can Participate: Students from 4th to 8th Grade (not already graduated to 9th grade) and not yet 15 years of age as of September 1, 2008.
What to study: The new official study booklet (Spell It!) is available on-line this year. Click this link to access the booklet.
Deadline for registration: January 30, 2009.
The qualifying bee is a written test of 50 words, some of which will be taken from the practice booklet. The top seven spellers on this test will be able to participate in the Rock y Mountain News Colorado State Bee on March 14, 2009, at the Denver Convention Center, 700 14th Street, Denver, CO. An oral bee for the top 25 participants will follow the written test. First, second, and third place ribbons will be awarded. *Please note - any qualifying homeschooled speller residing in Boulder County should compete in the Bee sponsored by the Boulder Daily Camera.
2008 highlights
Thanks to all of the spellers who came out for the 2008 Spelling Bee held February 16th. It was an exciting time!
The first portion of the Bee was a written test of 50 words taken from the Spell It! booklet as well as additional words from the dictionary. The top seven spellers on this written test are advancing on to the Colorado Rocky Mountain News State Spelling Bee being held March 22nd at the Colorado Convention Center. They will be competing for a chance to participate in the National Bee in Washington, D.C. The top six spellers are:
Ryan
Veronica
Eli
Ahmad
Ashley
Catriona
This year we had 5 spellers deadlocked for the seventh position, all having scored 28/50 on the written test. A 10-word spell-off was held to determine our seventh finalist. Mariana Kerwin outscored Brooke Caldwell by just one word to join her sister, Catriona, at the State Bee. Stiff competition!
The oral bee for all participants followed the written portion. Veronica edged out Ahmad in the 15th round by correctly spelling gargantuan. Veronica received a 1st place ribbon, Ahmad the 2nd place ribbon, and Catriona Kerwin brought home third.
It was wonderful to see so many new faces in the crowd this year! We look forward to continuing this trend as the new Spell It! booklet that the Scripps National Spelling Bee provides has been redeveloped into a more useful tool for teachers, and is more appealing to new spellers. Come on out next year and join us! The Spell-It booklet will be available again in September 2008. See you at the Bee!
