A love for reading has made this Marrington Middle School of the Arts eighth-grader the top speller in Berkeley County School District.
BCSD is excited to recognize Ellery Fine for clinching this year’s district spelling bee, held Jan. 15 at Goose Creek High.
The district spelling bee is sponsored by The Post and Courier, and the top nine spellers qualify to compete in the regional bee next month (see list of qualifiers below). VIEW PHOTOS.
The students took turns spelling in front of a panel of three judges: Shameka Washington, BCSD’s Chief Officer of Schools; Dr. Missy LaBerge, Executive Director of Elementary Schools; and Meri DuPre, retired BCSD administrator.
Katy Batkins, BCSD K-12 Social Studies Coordinator, served as the evening’s pronouncer.
When it is their turn to spell, students may ask the pronouncer to define the word, provide its part of speech, or use it in a sentence. Spellers can also ask for the word's language of origin, alternate pronunciations, or root word.
For two hours, 41 BCSD middle schoolers spelt their best onstage inside Goose Creek High’s auditorium. Students tackled words like “magnanimous”, “precocious” and “leviathan”.
After successfully completing “bruschetta”, Fine went on to spell “adieu” and took home the first place trophy.
Preparing for the bee involved a lot of memorizing words and getting some help from his parents to quiz him, Fine said.
Fine’s family added that a lifetime of reading has really helped him with his vocabulary – something Fine confirmed when he explained his method of preparing for the spelling bee.
Fine also participated in last year’s district spelling bee.
“I like that I’m good at spelling – it’s kind of intense but it is pretty fun,” he said.
A special recognition also goes to the bee’s first runner-up, seventh grader Hayden Wesenberg from Cane Bay Middle.
Sangaree Middle, Macedonia Middle, St. Stephen Middle and Daniel Island School join Marrington and Cane Bay in being represented at the regional event next month at Charleston Southern University.
Congratulations to the BCSD students who are advancing to the next round (listed in order of placement in the district bee):
1. Ellery Fine – eighth grade, Marrington Middle School of the Arts
2. Hayden Wesenberg – seventh grade, Cane Bay Middle
3. Elias Wylie – seventh grade, Marrington Middle School of the Arts
4. Ryan Taylor, Jr. – eighth grade, Sangaree Middle
5. Rowan Bryant – sixth grade, Macedonia Middle
6. Leonte Swinton – eighth grade, St. Stephen Middle
7. Isabella Cowan – sixth grade, Daniel Island School
8. Charlotte Hamlett – seventh grade, Daniel Island School
9. Lily Brittingham – seventh grade, Daniel Island School
