SUN Staff Report
The Rio Grande SUN will host the 2009 Rio Arriba County Spelling Bee.
This will be the fourth consecutive year the SUN has hosted the event. The Bee is scheduled for Jan. 15 at 7 p.m. at Northern New Mexico College’s Performing Arts Auditorium in Española. Northern has once again waived its facility use fee as a cosponsor of the event.
Last January, 24 students from across the County tested their spelling skills against the County’s best. McCurdy School sixth-grader Diane Williams won last year’s bee after spelling “karaoke” correctly and went on to compete at the state spelling bee in Albuquerque.
All students attending public and private elementary and middle schools within Rio Arriba County are eligible to send students to the County Bee. Home-schooled students are also eligible. They are encouraged to participate in the spelling bees held at their local school, or if this is not possible, they must contact the SUN by Nov. 15 to work out another arrangement.
Students in grades two through eight are eligible to participate in the bee. Participants must not have reached their 15th birthday on or before Sept. 1, 2008.
To participate in the County bee, schools need to hold spelling bees in each of their eligible classes in November. In December, after selecting winners in each class, schools should hold school-wide spelling bees.
Schools with 200 or more students may send two representatives to the County spelling bee. Schools with less than 200 students may send only one representative.
The winner of the Rio Arriba County Spelling Bee will qualify for the state tournament. The Albuquerque Journal and Newspapers in Education will host the statewide bee which is scheduled for March 2009.
To participate in the statewide and national bees, participating schools are required to enroll into the Scripps National Spelling Bee at www.spellingbee.com and pay a $99 fee. The schools then will be sent 26 copies of the study guide, “Spell It!.” Additional guides can be downloaded for free at myspellit.com.
The SUN will send letters to all eligible schools this month.
For more information about the 2009 Rio Arriba County Spelling Bee, call SUN Assistant News Editor Sarah Welsh at 753-2126 or visit www.riograndesun.com.