Congratulations to eighth-grader Amaan Ali and seventh-grader Julianna Barclay, who won their grade-level spelling bees and now advance to the Orange-Ulster BOCES Regional Spelling Bee, which will be held next March.
Amaan was last year’s seventh-grade winner and this is the first time in the district’s history that a student has won in back-to-back years. His winning word was “respiratory.” He noted he prepared for the spelling bee by reviewing the words he prepared for last year. He felt spelling was important because “it’s how we express ourselves as people.”
Amaan's advice to future spellers was to focus on oneself when studying, adding: ”Do not hope for other people to make mistakes.”
Julianna’s winning word was “impulsive.” She felt spelling was important “because things don't make sense otherwise, especially considering our language. It helps people understand what we're saying.”
Her advice for future spellers? “Do not procrastinate and do consume material other than studying words,” she said. “Read books. Listen to music.”
Both students will compete against students representing other school districts in the upcoming regional competition. To prepare, spellers will study “Words of the Champions,” the 4,000-word study resource provided by the Scripps National Spelling Bee. The winner of the Orange County bee advances to the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C.
The word “bee,” as used in “spelling bee,” is one of those words that has never been satisfactorily accounted for, according to the Scripps National Spelling Bee Association. A fairly old and widely-used word, it refers to a community social gathering at which friends and neighbors join together in a single activity (sewing, quilting, barn raising, etc.) usually to help one person or family.
The concept of young people competing to spell words goes back to at least 1808, however it’s likely there were informal competitions long before then.