Students in grades 4-8 at Kirtland Local Schools recently competed in their annual spelling bees for a chance to advance to the Lake County Spelling Bee. Grades 1-3 are not eligible for the county spelling bees so their spelling bees will happen later this spring.
These spelling bees are in conjunction with the Scripps National Spelling Bee which was established in 1925 and administered by the E.W. Scripps Company in Cincinnati, Ohio.
“At Kirtland, teachers value the spelling bee for more than the obvious reason of compelling students to be better spellers,” said Spelling Bee Coordinator, Linn Bowen. “It also develops vocabulary, provides opportunities for public speaking experiences, and helps the participants build confidence and poise. We are lucky to have the support of so many teachers in the district who assist with keeping the spelling bee alive.”
The students first completed spelling tests in their classrooms to determine participation in the grade level spelling bee. Typically, Kirtland has 12-24 students competing at each grade level.
Grade level winners are:
Liliana Giavara, Grade 4
Grace Kostelnik, Grade 5
Tommy Loncar, Grade 6
Karen Hill, Grade 7
Charlie Whittaker, Grade 8
Whittaker was the overall Kirtland winner and will go on to compete against other district winners in the Lake County Spelling Bee on February 1st. The winner from Lake County will compete in the Tri-County Bee.