How fast can you spell “incandescent” with zero errors? The Bound Brook School District celebrates three students who shined their talents at the recent Spelling Bee competition at Community Middle School. Read more about these extraordinary spellers:
Farida B.
On the way toward earning first place, seventh-grader Farida used several practice methods to help her prepare for the Spelling Bee competition, which included writing words repeatedly to memorize the spelling and using the app, Wordclub, to help her recite words and pronunciations.
On the day of the event, friends helped to boost her confidence, in addition to CMS Physical Education/Health teacher, Mr. Leh.
“Mr. Leh really helped me to stop panicking at the start of the competition,” said Farida. “After that, I got used to it as time went on and I spelled out more words.”
Farida was in shock about her win, snagging the prized achievement through the correct spelling of “perpendicularity.” To celebrate, she got ice cream with her family, in addition to her award certificate and a Barnes & Noble gift card that was awarded to each student who earned first, second and third place.
As the winner of the CMS Spelling Bee, Farida will move onto the County Bee next month with plans to prepare through similar practice methods. If she wins at the County Bee, Farida will enter the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C. No matter the result, she is excited to join the CMS competition again next year as an 8th grader!
Stephanie R.
Stephanie, an 8th grade honors student, achieved an astounding runner up place in the CMS Spelling Bee. She credits her twin sister and CMS English Language Arts Teacher, Mr. Crowley, who both played a large role in helping her prepare for the competition.
Her practice consisted of a flashcard method introduced to her by Mr. Crowley, in which she went through the entire list of words that ranged from 1st to 8th grade. While she needed to overcome some obstacles along the way, such as finding the perfect balance between her duties at home while also trying to study, Stephanie was more than ready when the time came.
“It was a nerve-wracking moment for me when I was on stage in front of my peers, but I slowly loosened up as we went through more words,” she said. “It was my time to show them what I can do.”
Stephanie developed a liking towards her Language Arts class this year, especially learning about writing narratives and the MLA method. While the word “incandescent” stumbled her at the very end, she was extremely proud to make it as far as she did!
Victoria R.
Victoria, an 8th grader at CMS, landed as the second runner up of the event and lauded the generous support she had before and during the competition. While preparing, her older brother helped her practice by reading each word in a categorized list to her. When Victoria went on stage, a close friend was allowed to sit behind her as a designated ‘hype person’ to cheer for her throughout the event.
She was nervous at first but gained her confidence after one to two rounds.
“I really want to thank the multiple teachers who motivated and supported me leading up to the competition as well, such as Mr. Sanders, Mr. Leh, Mrs. Barrows and Mr. Heiser,” said Victoria. “They were all so helpful throughout the process.”
Awesome work, Farida, Stephanie and Victoria!