Exhilarating. E-X-H-I-L-A-R-A-T-I-N-G. On June 3rd, the National English Honors Society (NEHS) hosted Roosevelt’s third annual Spelling Bee. Nine spellers from various grades gathered in front of judges, attending NEHS members, and more than a dozen spectators to show their skills.
Spelling bees are no new concept. In fact, the first Scripps National Spelling Bee was held exactly one hundred and one years ago (June 17th, 1925), and the first documented spelling bee, at that time called a “spelling match,” happened more than two hundred years ago. For many, however, the rules of a spelling bee are less familiar than the concept.
As NEHS president Oluwamayomide (Mayo) Adeduro explained, contestants take turns spelling aloud words given by the judges. “The words get increasingly difficult as the game goes on,” Mayo explained. “Our words are sorted into three categories: easy, medium, and hard.” When given a word, spellers can ask for certain information to help them out. They can ask for the language of origin, the definition of the word, the word used in a sentence, and a house rule added during this spelling bee; contestants could ask the student judges or an assisting teacher to enunciate the word. The language of origin can help spellers identify a word’s familiar roots, prefixes, or suffixes, and other information can help spellers separate their word from its homophones. If a contestant spells their word wrong, they are eliminated from the game.
After the spellers warmed up with a brief practice round, the game began. Disguise was the first word of round 1, followed by similarly difficult words including algebraic, khaki, vacuum, and irritability. Play went around the semicircle three times before the end of round 1. At the start of round 2, the players still in the game moved to the center, and spelling continued. Equilibrium started the second round, then came apparition, matrimony, and similar words. After three more cycles with the medium-difficulty words, the last speller was out, and the game concluded. Junior Corrine Rose (pictured fourth from the left) placed third, Freshman Beatrice Marx (pictured fourth from the right) placed second, and Freshman Talika Gorski (pictured center) won NEHS’s third annual spelling bee!
Getting up in front of a room of people to spell some of the English language’s especially difficult words is not easy, but the supportive environment of the event made it also really fun. The entire room would clap after every word spelled, correct or incorrect, and when the actual spelling bee concluded, the group elected to play a round with the hard words just for fun. Most of the contestants who showed up weren’t hardcore spellers who had been training for months. They were interested students who saw the spelling bee as a way to test their knowledge and have fun with friends. Two juniors, Corrine Rose (who won third place) and Roshan Mani (pictured second from the left), reported their main study method being to let their friends quiz them on words during the day. “I’m definitely not confident,” Roshan told us with a smile. “I just did this for fun.”
“Three more years at school is three more chances to win,” said freshman Louis Riggs (pictured far right). Whether you want to study hard and take home a medal or if you just want to have fun with friends, keep an eye out for next year’s spelling bee. A tip: there is one word that’s guaranteed to take you far in next year’s competition. Your word is enjoy. E-N-J-0-Y.