Three County students participate in Regional Spelling Bee

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On March 8 Jared Ward, seventh grader from Albert R. Lyman Middle School in San Juan District, made a repeat as top speller after a competitive 30 rounds in the annual Region Spelling Bee. Ward prepared for this Bee since last year’s title by studying thousands of words and hopes to come back next year for a three-peat with a year’s hard work and study.
Ward started the first round spelling llama, breezed through words like fandango, cauliflower, innate, cantata, caucus, fennel, intractable, barrage, malaria, matriarch, Argentine, vigilante, pochismo, salmonella, umlaut, homogeneous, philanthropy, cravat, insidious, flamboyant, oratorio, poltergeist, tapestry, pumpernickel, libretto, and rhinoceros, and topped Nathalie Reay by correctly spelling fibula. According to the rules of the competition Ward then was required to spell a championship word, ciliary, to clinch first place.
The Bee brought together spellers from Carbon, Emery, Grand, San Juan districts plus Pinnacle Canyon Academy. The sixth round thinned the original field of 15 to five excellent spellers who went six more rounds without a mistake. Round 15 then narrowed the competition to two spellers who went head to head until Jared finally bested Nathalie in the 29th round and earned his title in round 30 with the championship word.
Nathalie Reay an eighth grader from Monticello High School took second place. Third place went to Kevin Park from Helen M. Knight (HMK) school in Grand County who competed against his twin brother who had beaten him in the District Bee.
Sponsored by the Southeast Education Service Center, this year’s Region Bee was held at Green River High. The center thanks Larry Davis, Principal of Emery High, who pronounced the Bee words and Theresa Wilson and Johnna Boyack who served as judges. The Region Bee is a preliminary competition in the Scripps National Spelling Bee held during Bee Week 2012, May 27-June 1 in Washington D.C.
As first place speller, Ward receives an all-expense paid trip for two to Maryland and Washington D.C. to compete in the National Bee. He also was awarded a $50 Louis Sugarman Award and Webster’s Third New International Dictionary. First, second and third place spellers received a year’s subscription to Encyclopedia Britannica Online. In addition, second and third place winners received a $20 Amazon Gift certificate.
The top three district spellers in grades fourth through eighth from Carbon, Emery, Grand and San Juan School districts as well as Pinnacle Canyon Academy advanced to the Region Bee from bees held in their local schools earlier this year.
Grand spellers came from HMK: Teddy and Kevin Park fifth graders, and Cody Gatlin a sixth grader.
Emery District sent Tyrell Shumway eighth grader from Green River High, and Riata Christiansen sixth grade and Aubree Justice fifth grade from Ferron Elementary.
Competing from Carbon District were Aubrey Fausett-fifth, Ceairrah Warner-fifth, and James Bryner-fourth all from Creekview.
San Juan District spellers included Jared Ward-seventh and Noah Kemner-seventh from Albert R. Lyman Middle School, and Nathalie, eighth, Monticello High School.
Pinnacle Academy participants were Jared Brandt-sixth, Macy Morrill-seventh and Isaac Finley-seventh.
The Scripps Bee is the nation’s largest and longest-running educational promotion, administered on a not-for-profit basis by The E.W. Scripps Company and sponsors in the United States, American Samoa, Canada, China, Europe, Ghana, Guam, Jamaica, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, South Korea, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
The Bee’s purpose is to help students improve their spelling, increase their vocabularies, learn concepts, and develop correct English usage that will help them all of their lives.
The Louisville Courier-Journal started the event with nine contestants in 1925. In 1941 Scripps assumed sponsorship of the program. The bee was suspended during the World War II years of 1943, 1944, and 1945. Co-champions were declared in 1950, 1957, and 1962. Five of the six most recent national champions were public school students. This year 71 spellers have competed in Washington, D.C. before, including three, four-year repeaters.
Emery speller Christiansen went out on the word macaroni. Shumway spelled karma and Justice spelled interrupt in the first round. Justice spelled embargo, character and went out on the word inferno. Shumway spelled lucid, dynamic, and went out on the word diagnosis.