Area Students Advance to County Spelling Bee

Five area students have identified themselves as spelling champions by winning their school spelling bees to gain eligibility to advance to the Intermediate (county) Level Spelling Bee. Alaster Fogg, a seventh grader from Chinook Junior High School; Kendle Lankford, a fourth grader at Cleveland School; Marissa Hofer, a sixth grader at North Harlem Colony; Holly Grabofsky, a sixth grader from Turner School District; and Maddox Asbury, a sixth grader at Zurich Elementary School all won at their respective schools.

At Meadowlark Elementary School on January 28, twenty-five students battled to advance as Chinook's top speller. By round five, half of those students had been eliminated. In round nine, only two spellers remained: fifth grader Wyatt Oliver and Fogg. It took six rounds of back and forth success before Oliver missed the word sheathed. In the sixteenth round, Fogg correctly spelled streamlet to win the Chinook School District Spelling Bee.

Upon their winning at the school level, these five students were registered for the next level of competition. As reported earlier this month, the Intermediate Level Bee will NOT follow the oral format of former County Spelling Bees. That tradition will instead be replaced by the Scripps' Online Testing Platform (SOTP), and scores on the test will determine which students advance to the 2021 Treasure State Spelling Bee. The top sixty scorers on the intermediate test will qualify for state competition. This qualification measure differs from the past when a representative from each county advanced to the State Bee.

These school champions, their parents, and teachers have already been emailed instructions for taking the Intermediate Level test. The SOTP consists of both spelling and vocabulary questions, and contestants will have a time limit of 30 minutes to complete the examination. Contestants may take the test any time during the testing window of February 22-27 but must complete it in one sitting.

The test may be taken on any device, either at home or at school. However, in order to preserve the integrity of the test-taking option, the speller must be proctored by a parent or a teacher. Furthermore, contestants were required to sign an integrity statement, pledging that they would not access other devices or study aids during the test. Contestants will be notified by email after the intermediate test window has closed on February 27 if they have qualified for the state bee.

Following a similar format, the 2021 Treasure State Spelling Bee will be conducted using the SOTP with the same protocols as those used with the intermediate test. Contestants will again receive emailed instructions for taking the state test, which will be held on a single day: Thursday, March 25. After the bee is held, contestants will be notified of their qualification status.

According to Matthew Henry, 2021 Treasure State Spelling Bee Director, the top scorer on the state test will represent Montana at the 2021 Scripps National Spelling Bee for the chance to win $50,000.00 in college scholarships and other prizes. Travel expenses for the contestant and his/her parent, as well as other prizes, will be provided by the Treasure State Spelling Bee sponsor, the Montana Television Network.

Anyone with questions about these new spelling bee procedures is encouraged to contact the office of Valerie White, Blaine County Superintendent of Schools. White can be reached at 357-3270.

Additional information is available on the Scripps website (http://spellingbee.com/), and questions can also be directed to Henry, who not only directs the State Spelling Bee but serves as the Superintendent of Schools in Gallatin County. He can be reached by phone: 406-582-3090 or by email: matthew.henry@gallatin.mt.gov.