HH Elementary Spelling Bee

At our elementary school, the 4th-6th graders participated in a class and grade spelling bee.  They took the top 6 from each grade to compete in the school spelling bee held on December 3rd.  Spencer ended up being the 6th speller for the 5th grade.  18 children from 3 grades sat at the front of the auditorium waiting for the spelling challenge to begin.  Some were more nervous than others.  Some were determined and confident in their abilities.  Spencer is so easy going, he's smart and wanted to do well, but wasn't really worried about the outcome.

 The spelling commenced, a couple of students missed their first word, largely due to nerves.  The bulk of the competition was narrowed in the next five or six rounds.  Spencer was in the top 5 and as we exchanged glances, I could tell he would be happy to place anywhere among these students.  There were several boys and girls bound and determined to win.  Then, it was down to three, Spencer was still in it!  One girl and two boys, all from the same 5th grade homeroom class.  He knew he would at least walk away with a trophy at this point.

They continued to spell, matching correct spelling in each round.  Then the girl missed her word, but so did the next two boys, so they all came back to try again.  Another round with everyone spelling correctly.  The girl misspelled her word, and the two boys remained, Spencer and another boy.  They continued to spell correctly, round after round, and then a misspelled word, but they both misspelled, so both continued.  That all happened one more time.  It was a battle to the end!  

Finally, Spencer spelled his word, cabana, the other boy spelled fiesta, Spencer spelled tornado, the boy was given gardenia, asked for the definition, started spelling and missed it by one letter.  Here was Spencer's chance.  His word was clementine.  He nailed it and HE WON the school spelling bee!  It really was awesome!  Some of the other words he spelled were: blister, jute, cockatoo, chutney, woodchuck, ramen, bevel, hurricane, and alchemy.  Spencer actually felt a little bad because he knew the other boy really wanted to win more than he did.

Spencer will be going to the district spelling be to represent his school the first week in February.