The Anguillian public was regaled by the spelling prowess of the twelve (12) students who competed in the Inter-Primary Schools’ Spelling Bee that was held on Wednesday, 17th May 2023 at 6PM following a three-year hiatus. The competitors were Keya Richardson and Azharia Gumbs from Alwyn Allison Richardson Primary School (AARPS), Magda Gumbs and Robert Del Rosario Advincola representing Adrian T. Hazell Primary School (ATHPS), Shae Wills and Kylan Harrigan from Orealia Kelly Primary School (OKPS), Skai Carty and Saniyah Webster from Vivien Vanterpool Primary School (VVPS), Reegan Lake and Selim Williams representing Valley Primary School (VPS) and Morris Vanterpool Primary School (MVPS) was represented by Majih Francis and Anaya Gillis.
The 2023 Spelling Bee was organized on similar criteria as its predecessors. Mrs. Vanessa Hobson, Literacy Champion, shared the details. Each school was represented by two students and there were eight rounds of words; the first four being written and the final four oral. For the written round, each student was allocated a Spotter to verify whether they had spelt the word correctly. The Moderator, Ms. Sandra Fahie, Education Officer Curriculum, called each word twice and where necessary or if requested, gave the meaning. Participants were allocated 20 seconds to write or spell out the word which was tracked by the Timekeeper, Numeracy Coordinator, Mr. Leonard Telemaque. Participants received two points for a correctly spelled word. In case of the oral round, if a participant spelled a word incorrectly, the team mate from his/her school was offered the opportunity to spell that word for a single point. Two Scorers,
Tr. Sandra Liddie-Gumbs and Tr. Denise Warrington kept the tallies. One new feature in this year’s competition was to show the spelling of the word to the audience in the hall as well as online. This feature proved effective and will likely be incorporated going forward. The audience responded well, there was no prompting which would have resulted in disqualification of the student who was prompted and expulsion of the prompter.
In a closely fought competition, Orealia Kelly Primary School emerged as the 2023 Spelling Bee Champions with 167 points, edging out hosts, Alwyn Allison Richardson Primary School, the 2019 winners, who garnered 164 points. Third and Fourth place went respectively to Adrian T. Hazell Primary School and Morris Vanterpool Primary School. The Vivien Vanterpool Primary School came fifth with 132 points and Valley Primary School was 6th with 129 points – completely the inverse outcome compared to the 2023 Inter-Primary Schools’ Sports Day which VPS dominated.
The Spelling Bee is an individual competition as well as a team competition, as such, a “Best Speller” is always identified. The 2023 Best Speller award went to Shae Wills of OKPS.
The Department of Education congratulates all the students who participated, the coaches, and teachers and parents as well as all the officials who supported the Spelling Bee. Thanks also to PS Education, Dr Bonnie Richardson, for giving brief remarks and Mrs. Susan Smith, Education Officer Primary and Pre-Primary who is key to organizing and coordinating the Spelling Bee and all inter-primary schools’ activities, events and competitions.
Special gratitude must also be extended to Flow which has given stellar corporate support for the Inter-Primary Schools’ Spelling Bee for over thirty years. Flow sponsors all the gifts and most of the organisation of the Spelling Bee. The Flow Spelling Bee Team for 2023 consisted of Ms. Shakeema Carty, Chairperson, Mrs. Orngel Battice Mathew, who gave welcome remarks, and Ms. Vyonne Brooks and Ms. Tevia Romney who assisted with organization and distribution of gifts. The Department of Education applauds FLOW for its contributions.
The public is invited to keep tuned for the Anguilla Day Quiz which will be held next Wednesday, May 24, 2023 at 6 PM at Morris Vanterpool Primary School in East End.
