Shari Rowe, Westmoreland
UNLIKE OTHER spellers, when Shari Rowe cried, they were tears of unspeakable joy.
Her win made it 12 wins consecutively for Frome Prep in the Westmoreland Spelling Bee, with the only blemish coming in 1998.
"I'm quite confident. I've been training hard with my teacher and I think I'll do well," says Shari.
Shari became interested in the Spelling Bee after her brother took the title in 2001.
"I just wanted to go and get the experience," says Shari. Jacqueline Rowe, Shari's mother, knew the challenges GSAT and spelling would present but encouraged her daughter anyway.
"She's been top of the class from grade one. Sometimes she complains that it (her schedule) is hard, but I tell her others have done it so she can too," says Mrs. Rowe.
Shari is also captain of Frome's KFC Quiz team and is in the debating club at her school as well. This 11-year-old wants to be either a dentist or a nutritionist.
