Lower Schoolers Shine in Inaugural Spelling Bee

With The New York Times acquiring Wordle and WordHurdle and Quordle riding its coattails, word games are center stage once again, including a new word competition in the Lower School: the quintessential spelling bee. On Tuesday, April 5, 34 third- and fourth-grade students stepped up to the spelling challenge, showing great courage when setting foot on the FWCD Scott Theater stage to display their spelling expertise in front of their peers, teachers, family and friends.

The 2022 Lower School Spelling Bee went on for 16 rounds before Olivia Robinson ’30 and Madeline Settle ’30 were declared the winner and runner-up, respectively, of the inaugural Lower School Spelling Bee. Robinson earned the title of champion for correctly spelling “sepia.” 

Inaugural Year Lower School Spelling Bee participants were third-graders Riley Cinalli, Ben Herman, Taylor McMillan, Tyler Ferguson, Margot Smith, Ainslee Simmons, Bailey King, Graham Conklin, Andrew Tiblets, Austin Smith, Charlotte Anne McLeland, Nell Walton, Cam Moore, Sophia Isarraraz, Roman Braswell, William Shaw, and fourth-graders Boyce Simmons, Soren Holt, Katherine Walker, Madeline Settle, Olivia Robinson, Lili Moreno, Eleanor Adams, Vinh Nguyen, Barrett Prigel, Nathalie Mae Blair, Martha Walker, Sophie Ratino, Ana Yi, Ava Long, Emery Estes, Cormac Dollahite, Helena McClanahan, and Ricky Bonnell.

Some of the words posed during the 16 rounds were air, jaws, lima, badly, tabby, wool, litter, tiptoe, loaf, type, disco, hours, splinter, whenever, gremlin, artistic, siren, gravity, pleats, poodles, ghost, shriek, universe, eliminate, axis, relics, dollop, swiveled, mockingly, hoisted and ruefully. In this inaugural Lower School Spelling Bee, 168 words were used. 

Fourth-Grade Teacher Kelly Jenkins organized the spelling bee. With “bee” experience from her previous schools, she had been asking Head of Lower School Trey Blair if she could host one at FWCD, and 2022 is the year that finally felt like the right time to try it! “Going into middle school, students have the opportunity to participate in spelling bees, and I think that offering this third- and fourth-grade option is a great way for students to try it out and see what they are capable of,” Jenkins said. 

A flyer went home with all third- and fourth-grade students. Those interested returned a form and took a preliminary written spelling test at the beginning of March. “We then found a natural cut line from those test results, and the top performers became spelling bee participants on April 5,” Jenkins said. There were 60 interested spellers from the third and fourth grades who took the preliminary test.

The study list students used were from the 2019 Scripps National Spelling Bee. Students were primarily responsible for studying at home, but three after-school “study sessions” were offered with Jenkins and Director of Community Engagement and Inclusion Nicole Masole. Those who attended played spelling games and practiced spelling out loud. Jenkins also talked about what the spelling bee would look and sound like to help students participating in the main event feel comfortable when the day came.

For Jenkins, the spelling bee allows students to demonstrate their skills in spelling and vocabulary. “I think it also builds self-confidence when students see that they can stand in front of a crowd of their peers,” she said. “The ability to communicate and speak in public are also benefits that children gain when participating. These students truly showed that they can thrive under pressure. 

“I hope that all students participating took away a sense of pride in themselves,” Jenkins added. “It takes a lot of determination and courage to stand up in front of others and speak publicly. No matter the outcome, they all demonstrated that they are strong and resilient.”

Assistant Head of Lower School Kelly Lanier Tierce ’93 served as the pronouncer, and Daniel Lancaster, Upper School English Teacher; Shannon Allen, Communications and Constituent Relations Manager; and Patrick Powers ’05, Alumni Relations Manager, were the judges. 

Photo: From left, runner-up and winner of the inaugural Lower School Spelling Bee, respectively, Madeline Settle ’30 and Olivia Robinson ’30.

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