Spellers focus on the task at hand.
More than 60 grade-school students will gather on the campus of Towson University to compete in the eighth annual Baltimore Spelling Bee, this weekend.
Scheduled for March 16, the competition is a partnership between the university’s Division of Innovation and Applied Research and Learn It Systems, and offers local students a fun, educational and confidence-building activity in a healthy, competitive environment.
Participating in this year’s bee will be spellers ranging from grades 3 through 8 and representing public, private and parochial schools in Baltimore City and Baltimore County. All students competing in the regional event are winners of spelling bees hosted by their schools.
“The Baltimore Bee is a fantastic competition with students from all across the Baltimore region participating,” explains Troy Laur, a marketing manager for Learn It Systems and coordinator of the event. The competition improves spelling skills, increases vocabularies, develops public speaking skills, and provides students from across the region an opportunity to make friends from other schools.
“These talented kids always bring their best effort and make the bee an exciting and inspiring event for everyone,” continues Laur.
Sponsoring this year’s bee is the Josephine B. Scheffenacker Trust.
Towson University and Learn It Systems will provide the champion of the Baltimore Bee with personal mentoring from an Albert S. Cook librarian before they advance to the Scripps National Spelling Bee in June.
The winner will also receive the Samuel Louis Sugarman Award Certificate, donated by Mr. Jay Sugarman. Other prizes include Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary and one-year subscriptions to Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
