Elementary school participants in the 2018 Spring ISD Spanish Spelling Bee
Secondary school participants in the 2018 Spring ISD Spanish Spelling Bee
HOUSTON – April 12, 2018 – Now in its third year, the Spring ISD Spanish Language Spelling Bee has doubled in participation with native and non-native Spanish speakers from 13 elementary schools and five middle schools competing recently in front of an enthusiastic audience made up of families, school personnel and volunteers who helped with the event.
Fourth- and fifth-grade students competed at the elementary level while sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders competed at the middle school level for the opportunity to advance to the 8th Annual, 2018 National Spanish Spelling Bee on July 15-17 in San Antonio.
“I was very impressed with the skill and knowledge that our scholars demonstrated during the spelling bee,” said Dr. Lupita Hinojosa, chief of school leadership and student support services. “It was obvious that they were well-prepared and ready to show what they could do in a competitive setting. This competition also allows our scholars to show their high level of bilingualism, which gives them a competitive edge in preparation for their future.”
Coordinated by the Spring ISD Multilingual Department under the direction of Marie Mendoza, the spelling bee followed rules that are closely aligned to those of the Scripps National Spelling Bee with a few exceptions, which include using the Spanish alphabet and commonly used accents. All the words came from the Royal Academy of the Spanish Language, better known as the Real Academia de la Lengua Española. Although this makes the spelling of words more rich and complex in Spanish, it does require students to articulate the linguistic and phonetic components of words they need to spell.
“The students were amazing spellers,” said Kathy Heinze, Spring ISD elementary multilingual coordinator. “At the elementary level, we went three rounds before one student was eliminated, and the secondary spelling bee was highly competitive also.”
Each of the following district-level winners were awarded a trophy and a certificate for their accomplishment.
Elementary Schools:
- Orlando Santamaria, First, Ponderosa Elementary
- Amy Valladores, Second, Clark Intermediate
- Raudel A. Delgado Merino, Third, Beneke Elementary
Secondary Schools:
- Joshua A. Duque, First, Roberson Middle School
- Emiliano Torres, Second, Wells Middle School
- Shirley G. Luque, Third, Claughton Middle School