14 to battle for Catholic Schools spelling champion crown

As a result of COVID-19, the Catholic schools will crown their spelling champion, but the process to get to the 54th winner will look a little different.

Masks, strict physical distancing, hand sanitizers, temperature checks, limited audience, and virtual contestants will all be in play for the 2021 Archdiocesan Spelling Contest. And two people will be stationed to wipe and sanitize microphones after each use. Spellers have also been told not to touch the microphone.

Fourteen students who won their respective school’s spelling bee which allowed them to progress to the overall competition will battle for the Archdiocesan spelling champion title on Thursday, February 4, at Seton Hall, Xavier’s Lower School, in a hybrid bee, with Mary, Star of the Sea Academy (MSSCA) contestants joining the contest virtually.

Representing St. Cecilia School in the spelling contest will be fifth grade student Sarah Thompson, nine; and sixth grade students Vanessa Rolle, 11 and Kaydence Dennis, 10. Sixth grade students Kaizen Dorsett, 11; and Gerrano Etienne, 11, are the alternates.

Fourth grade students, Mario Kemp, nine; Maya Gardiner, nine; and Aaron Moss, nine, are the Sts. Francis & Joseph representatives.

St. Thomas More will be represented by fifth grade student Jordan Lewis, 10; sixth grade student Rayna Bain, 11; and fourth grade student Schuyler Kenny, nine. Sixth grade student Yvaine Boctot, 11, is the alternate.

Xavier’s Lower School will be represented by sixth grade student Landon Dawkins, 11; and fourth grade students Nathan Bethel, eight; and Julius Williams, nine. Sixth grade student Aryanna Cooper, 10 is the alternate.

Mary, Star of the Sea Catholic Academy will be represented by fifth grade student Michael Udo, 11; and sixth grade student Elena J. Green, 11.

St. Francis de Sales, has opted to sit out this year’s competition.

The first and second place winners of the contest will go on to represent Catholic Schools at the Bahamas National Spelling Bee.

Crystal Greene Woods, spelling bee coordinator, says with safety paramount, the competition which gets underway at 12: 30 p.m. will be limited to contestants, officials, one parent per speller and one administrator per school.

She said as the Catholic Board of Education is committed to providing a high quality of education through the pandemic, they decided to go ahead with the spelling contest this year, as it is important to give students the most authentic and enriching educational experience possible in spite of everything that is going on in the world at this time.

“Competitions such as spelling bees are a type of curriculum support that could be conducted in a safe and socially distanced way. Therefore, we saw no real reason why we should not host this year’s bee,” said Greene Woods.

She said the committee was asked why they would bother with a spelling competition considering the pandemic era, that they felt that students’ lives in general had been disrupted in so many ways, that hosting the spelling contest gave them more reason to persevere and host the contest under unique circumstances.

“I truly believe this year’s competition will be the most meaningful and beneficial one to date,” said Greene Woods.

The Catholic Schools Spelling Bee is the oldest formal spelling bee in The Bahamas. Aimed at encouraging academic excellence and a healthy competitive spirit amongst Catholic primary schools, this year’s event promises to be as exciting as previous competitions.

The post 14 to battle for Catholic Schools spelling champion crown appeared first on The Nassau Guardian.

source https://thenassauguardian.com/14-to-battle-for-catholic-schools-spelling-champion-crown/