The Spelling Bee Competition, which was held in accordance with the school’s Literary Week, under the theme ‘Sharpening Our Skills to Shape Our Future’, took place at the Old Boys School (Methodist Church) from 4:30 pm. 

Parents of the participants, families, teachers, classmates and well wishers were all on hand to witness this auspicious occasion and to provide support for the children. The competition was a class opportunity, where two students represented each class and the children needed all of the support that they could have possibly get.

Weeks prior to the competition the students were presented with a list of fifty (50) to sixty (60) words that were studied during usual class time and prepared by the classroom teacher. 

All participants participated in rounds one, two and three and Grades four, five and six were given a fourth round. 

Spellers representing each Grade, in round one, were asked to listen to the words read, then give correct spelling. Round two was a group effort, in this round the moderator read a short phrase to students then each group had to discuss and unscramble the letters shown to produce the correct words. The process in round one was then repeated in round three. However, Grades four to six participants were given ‘fill in the blanks’ in round four. 

At the end of the night, as all of the students performed credibly well, and there were ties in individual points for most of the Grades. The participants then had to square off in a ‘Tie Breaker’ round; which featured words that the students were not given to study. Nevertheless, most of the participants spelt the words correctly, without a doubt.

 Participants and winners were as follows: 

Grade One “Winning Team” – Miss Wilkes

Miss A Wilkes- Dejonique Spanner (Best Speller)

Hazon Marshall 

Miss J Gumbs- Shakira Pemberton

Ja’Diequa Newman 

Grade Two “Winning Team” – Mrs. Hodge

Miss A Richards- Jayden Rouse

Lashayna Hensley 

Mrs. P Hodge-    Zeidan Bass

Zaria Walters (Best Speller) 

Grade Three “Winning Team” – Miss Matthew

Miss E Stanley- Jaida Arthurton

Mervyn Lynch 

Miss K Matthew- Hailey Morris

Karyl Woods (Best Speller) 

Grade Four “Winning Team” -Mrs. Francis

Mr. D Francis – Kayla Collins (Best Speller)

Ashleigh Lake 

Mrs. K Francis- Makayala Whyte

Thoneu Pemberton 

Grade Five “Winning Team” – Mrs. Taylor

Mrs. L James- Geandre Forbes(Best Speller)

Melisha Etienne 

Mrs. G Taylor-Tyon Slader

Cedricia Jeffers 

Grade Six “Winning team” – Mrs. Bacchus

Mr. A Warner- Sarai Hutchinson

Kavia Matthew 

Mrs. M Bacchus- Tarique Allen

Kieran Lake (Best Speller) 

Miss Averil Noel, Deputy Principal and Chairwoman of the Competition gave high praises to the parents and teachers for assisting the students in their preparations. She also assured the participants that they will receive their prizes at a later date. 

Just one week before, the Epworth/Maurice Hillier Memorial Junior School held an Elocution and Effective Speaking Competition. Participants ranged from Kindergarten to Grade three in the Elocution (Poetry) Competition and Grades four (4) to six (6) in Effective Speaking with the topic ‘To Be the Best Me – I Must Be Trustworthy’