Claude Mills, Staff Reporter 
WHO WILL be the last speller standing in this year's Gleaner Children's Own Spelling Bee Competition?
On February 4, this year's crop of spelling gladiators will be under the lights, their nametags pinned on their chests and a thousand words buzzing in their heads, to battle each other in the 'no-words-barred' spelldown competition.
There is a buzz surrounding this year's competition, especially after Trudy McLeary's lion-hearted performance at last year's international Scripps Howards National Spelling Bee Competition in Washington, D.C., United States, where she placed a creditable third, earned kudos from the judges, and won the hearts of all Jamaicans, at home and abroad, some nervous, but all proud.
SPELLING AGENDA
The competition, the 45th annual Children's Own Spelling Bee, kicks off officially on Tuesday, February 3, with a tour by the spellers of the Hilton Kingston Hotel, New Kingston. After this, they will participate in a battery of dictations and written spellings, and comprehension tests. Based on the scores generated in these tests, the spellers will then be assigned handicaps under which they will compete.
The 'showdown' kicks off at nine o'clock on Wednesday morning, February 4, with judges challenging the youngsters from the depths of their dictionaries. The competition will be broadcast live on local television beginning at 10 a.m. Parents will hold their breath, cross their fingers, and pray quietly for the big 'V' (for victory), while the not-so-strongs are eliminated one-by-one from the competition. Tears, hugs and stiff-lipped disappointment are common sights on this day. But as the old adage goes, only one person can be number one, and the spellers compete until one emerges the grinning, bright-faced winner, usually mobbed by teachers, schoolmates and parents alike.
On February 5, there will be courtesy calls paid on Sir Howard Cooke, Governor-General at King's House, Prime Minister P.J. Patterson at Jamaica House, Mrs. Maxine Henry-Wilson, the Education Minister, and at The Gleaner Co. Ltd. at its headquarters at 7 North Street, downtown Kingston.
To the winners go the spoils, and on February 6, the top three champions and their teachers will be whisked off to the FDR Runaway Bay Hotel, St. Ann for a weekend of well-earned fun and relaxation.
HANOVER
Aiming for the top prize with confidence
BETHEL PRIMARY and Junior High School had previously taken the three Hanover parish titles but Norando Brown broke up that winning streak in November.
The grade six student led a one-two finish for his school, Lucea Primary. Now he represents his parish in the National Finals. But how did he achieve that?
"Well, the teacher was asking for those who wanted to enter and since I always get them right in spelling, I decided to do it." He certainly does not regret the decision.
He says he is both nervous and confident at the same time with the finals getting ever closer but he works hard just the same. Norando is no bookworm though. He loves to play football and is a member of the cricket club. The busy 11-year-old has also participated in National Festival competitions in both speech and drama. That seems to explain the clear manner in which he pronounces all his words.
He wants to become a doctor and seems to have an eye for the area dealing with childbirth (obstetrics).
A place at Rusea's High School, Lucea, in September would give him a fine start on that road.
ST ANN
Aspiring doctor spells his way to the top
SO, APART from having the hardest last name to pronounce of all the parish champion spellers, who is Yarek Yankannah?
The St. Ann champion showed interest in spelling from the age of eight years when he was in grade three. "When the teachers gave spelling tests, I would always get them right and so that's how I got started." So, from aspiring speller to parish champion in two grades.
Yarek says that the Spelling Bee Competi-tion has taught him to work hard to achieve his goals and never to lose hope. His determination to work hard is brought out when, he says, he is studying. Apart from that, he loves to play cricket and does a bit of drawing every now and then.
He looks forward to a busy future because he plans to be a doctor, a scientist and an artist. He is not sure just how he plans to balance all that, but he is determined to pull it off.
At 10 years old, he is one of the youngest competitors. With Krislee Nelson, last year's St. Ann champion and former schoolmate, placing third in the nationals finals, he is expected to do well also. His win made it five in a row for his school, so he is living up to expectations.
His advice to other children: "They just have to study hard to achieve what they want and never lose faith in themselves."
Daviot Kelly
Lucea Primary's Spell Club Preparing
future spellers
Daviot Kelly, Staff Reporter
HANOVER IS not known for producing Spelling Bee champions.
Perennial top five finishes in the national finals and champion boy and girl honours have also eluded dthe parish.
But there are plans to change that and soon. A spell club was formed in the last school year and already it has 15 students. Nadine McIntosh is the coach and she told The Gleaner that the club caters to children from grades three to six. "Spelling is all about memory and so we want them to develop techniques to spell from that early stage, so by the time they get to grades six, they are ready." No wonder the school took the top two places at the parish finals.
The club tries to get in two practice sessions a week. But the students themselves meet every school day for an hour (7:30 a.m. 8:30 a.m.). Miss McIntosh feels that the parents are very supportive and sometimes when the students do not show the kind of effort that is required, the parents come in and help settle things down.
For next year, she would like to have that same support from other teachers.
"We want to get more teachers involved. One recently suggested that we groom the children from grade one." She would also like to get some incentives for the children when they perform well. That sounds like more work, but it could also mean a bright future for Lucea Primary and by extension, Hanover, in the Spelling Bee Competition.
Epitome of excellence
ASK ANYONE about Valerie Bailey-Wishart, and 'Spelling Bee' will be the first words from their lips.
Mrs. Bailey-Wishart has had success wherever she has coached. At Ocho Rios Primary, she has had seven champions in eight years. Included, is this year's champ, Yarek Yankannah, who was the school's fifth consecutive winner.
"I am doing it unto the Lord," she said. "I am glad when the school's name pops up in the Spelling Bee."
For her, the Spelling Bee Competition is important in the development of children. "I have found where it has helped children. Just by working with them, you see that some of them can't spell and after working with them, after the first month, you wonder if it's the same child!" For her, this dispels the rumour that spelling comes naturally with all children.
As for Yarek, she finds him easy to work with. "He is well behaved, a student you can talk with and show him his faults," Mrs. Bailey-Wishart said. She would love it if he could use that training and win the coveted national title. She is very much like a mother to her students. Maybe that's why she always gets a big hug from her past pupils.
"There's just something about seeing them win and how elated they are," Mrs. Bailey-Wishart said, as she reflected on some of her triumphs. No wonder she loves her job.
