Middle school bees set for Wednesday
Staff Writer
Friday, May 09, 2008
Quick — how do you spell chrysanthemum?
Which countries make up the Lesser Antilles?
How many islands are in Hawaii?
Students in Elizabeth City-Pasquotank Public Schools may face a number of questions like these when district-wide spelling and geography bees begin soon. The district-wide spelling bee is returning after a lengthy absence, while the district-wide geography bee is being held for the first time this year.
The bees will include winners of school-level competition. Each elementary school will have one 4th-grade and one 5th-grade participant for the geography bee and one 3rd-grade, one 4th-grade, and one 5th-grade participant for the spelling bee. Each middle school will have two participants per grade level (grades 6-8) for both bees.
The geography bee will consist of seven questions per round with each participant receiving one question per round. Questions for elementary school students will focus on U.S. geography, while questions for middle school students will focus on world geography. Questions will be similar to those used for the National Geographic Bee.
The spelling bee will follow the rules and the format of the of the Scripps National Spelling Bee. Angela Stancil, Elizabeth City-Pasquotank language arts facilitator, said district winners will be able to compete for advancement to the Scripps bee in future years.
All participants in both bees will receive a certificate and a medallion. The winners of each bee will receive a trophy.
"Hopefully, it will generate some excitement among students," said Amie Aydlett, school district spokeswoman.
The middle school bees will be held Wednesday at Central Elementary School. The elementary school bees will be held May 28 at J.C. Sawyer Elementary School. The geography bee begins at 6 p.m. and the spelling bee at 7:30 p.m. both nights.
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Comments
By Parent
May 10, 2008 11:55 AM | Link to this
Why did ECPPS choose competitions that focus on memorizing lists of words or geographic trivia? I want my kid to be able to think creatively and respond intelligently in dynamic situations. There are many other activities that promote thinking vs. memorization that would be more suitable. Odyessy of the Mind, Destination Imagination, Science Olympiad, Debate, etc... And why are we competing within the district? Wouldn't it be better to name winners from each school and send them all to the regional competition? We don't need to pit our schools against each other. And think about the exposure and what the students could learn by traveling to a regional competition, learning to perform under pressure, and that there is something out there beyond Ptank Co.
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