January 26, 2005
Spellers search for right words
Fifth grader wins TCAPS Spelling Bee on 'anchovy'
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
Anchovy - the little fish played a large role Thursday evening in the Traverse City Area Public Schools Elementary Spelling Bee.
It was the winning word for the bee, spelled correctly by Sophie Kelly who took home first place honors in the event. Kelly, a fifth-grade student in Central Grade School's TAG program, was one of 48 spellers who competed in the bee, which was held at the Lars Hockstad Auditorium. The Traverse City Record-Eagle sponsored the event.
Kelly and the other five top spellers, plus one alternate, will compete in the Grand Traverse County Spelling Bee, scheduled for Thursday, February 3, at 6:30 p.m. at the Traverse City Christian School. This event is for students in fifth through eight grade. It will include the top spellers from the two TCAPS junior highs and the Kingsley district as well as private school, charter school and homeschool students.
Kelly took top honors after seven rounds, holding out the last two rounds against Joe Prokes, a fifth-grade student at Cherry Knoll Elementary School.
In these rounds, Prokes spelled first and spelled his words - kinetic and stucco - wrong. To win, Kelly had to spell two words in a row correctly. This task eluded her in round six but in round seven she correctly spelled hydra and then anchovy to win.
Kelly kept her cool and spelled slowly and thoughtfully during the bee, especially during the last two tense rounds. Other students said their nerves got to them.
"My mind went blank - stage fright," said Ethan Poirier, a sixth-grade student in Central Grade School's TAG program.
Poirier was one of four spellers who advanced to the fifth round. When he received his word, manna, he could not fathom what the word meant. Even some judicious advice received just before the competition did not work with this word, though his fourth place finish qualified him for the county bee.
"My grandma, she called me right before the bee and told me to picture the word in my mind, that did help," he said, adding that although he did not study for the bee, he practices spelling in school. "We have spelling and vocab tests every week."
Sometimes previous experience helps a competitor stay relatively calm.
"I was in it last year and that helped," said Elizabeth Roth, a sixth-grade student at Courtade Elementary School.
As for Roth's parents, they were proud of her being one of the top spellers in her school. Even after she missed her word in round three, the family stayed to watch the end of the proceedings.
"We've worked hard getting here and every night we took a section of the list to study," said Deb Roth. "She's a good student and really likes spelling and really loves to read."
"They've all worked hard to get here," she added of the competitors.
Steve Balcom, a fifth-sixth grade teacher at Central Grade School, coordinated the bee for the district. Each elementary school holds their own bee to determine the top fifth and sixth grade spellers, sending them to the TCAPS Elementary Bee. He noted there is a different atmosphere in the school bees compared to Thursday night's event.
"They're pretty laid back in the classroom, because they're with their peers and everybody's there," said Balcom, who also served as one of two statisticians during the bee. "When they come up here [after getting a word wrong to receive their certificate], some are very laid back about it but others are just devastated."