Elmwood Park students’ spelling skills will be tested in an upcoming competition.
A total of 34 students split half-and-half between John Mills Elementary School and Elmwood Elementary School, will participate in the local Scripps National Spelling Bee competition at 9:30 a.m. Jan. 22. The students, from the fourth, fifth and sixth grades, will meet in Elmwood School’s gymnasium to compete, with students and supporters from both schools expected to be in attendance.
Kelly Baird, the school district’s enrichment teacher and organizer of the spelling bee, said the event is an ongoing tradition in the school district and students from both schools have been studying for months to prepare for it. He said the Scripps National Spelling Bee organization provides everything needed to participate, including words for students to practice that could be similar to words asked for students to spell during the spelling bee.
“The two schools have been doing this for a number of years, and there will be one winner who will go on to the next round,” he said.
The next round is a regional spelling bee competition and the winner will go on to compete in the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C.
He said after all the months of practicing, the students are ready to get started.
“I’m excited and they’re excited as well,” he said. “It’s a pretty big event.”
Twitter: @DavidDPollard