On Tuesday, January 20th, students in grades 4, 5 ,6 and 8 participated in a spelling bee, the winners of which move on to a regional competition in Ashland.  The regional competition is held at CESA 12 on February 3rd.

Students were given a practice round where they spelled words including “emerald,” “summary” and “fringe.”  Both the practice and competition rounds consisted of the District Spelling Bee Coordinator – Mrs. Merrill – introducing the word, its origins, meaning and then using it in a sentence.  Students were required to repeat the word before they spelled it and again after they had spelled it.  If they spelled it correctly, they advanced to the next round.   After four rounds of stiff competition that consisted of 31 words spelled, the bee came down to two finalists: Leila Tuura and Quinn Soltis.  A dropped pin could have been heard when Mrs. Merrill read the phrase “this word could be confused with a similar word. Measly. This word is originally English.  It is an adjective and means contemptibly small.  Holden complained that he needed more than one measly helping of macaroni and cheese.”  When Quinn added an extra “e,” Leila had an opportunity to spell the same word.  Leila spelled the word correctly for the win.  Tuura finished runner-up last year…practice has clearly paid off!

2016 Spelling Bee words:

mustang | bonkers | calico | hubbub | lyrics | worrywart | platoon | astronaut | beverage | pedigree | Americana | bewilder | origin | catalog or catalogue | median | tropical | curfew | moxie | lactose | trellis | hoity-toity  | parable | swollen | whiff | phrasing |columnist | evaporation | fulfilling | hammock |nurture | smidge | measly