Riverview Junior High abuzz over spelling competition
The Salt Lake Tribune
First published Feb 08 2012 07:31AMUpdated Feb 8, 2012 03:15PM
Vicious, or rather, v-i-c-i-o-u-s.
That was the winning word at Riverview Junior High’s inaugural spelling bee, held in late January. But there was nothing vicious about it. Exciting was the better word for it.
"As we went round after round, it was more intense for the students [left] on the stage," recounted Cambria Demke, teacher and chairwoman of Riverview’s English department.
The spelling bee turned out to be such a success that the school plans to do it again next year — perhaps with a bigger audience.
Taking home the first-place prize was Zach Jamison, who was part of a seventh-grade trio that dominated the bee. Jamison admits that his preparation amounted to a cramming session before the competition.
"I had meant to study," he said, "but I only studied the night before and the morning before."
Although Jamison was nervous at the beginning of the bee, he said the excitement — especially the thrill of winning — eventually overtook his nerves. He now advances to the regional competition in March 10 at Juan Diego Catholic High School as part of the Scripps National Spelling Bee.
"I will definitely study a lot more," Jamison said.
Demke plans to help Jamison get ready for the regional tourney.
The notion of a Riverview spelling bee was proposed by a parent early in the school year. As a result, the English department went to work organizing and hosting class spelling competitions that produced two winners apiece for the final bee.
This year, the spelling bee was an invitation-only affair for parents. But next year, Demke hopes to expand the event with an assembly open to the entire school.
"Next year, it’ll be something the students would be more excited about," Demke said. "We would do some more prepped lesson plans to get them more involved."
This year’s competition lasted for 19 rounds. However, it required eight extra rounds to choose between friends Emily Bahr and Laura Leiser for the second-place winner.
"It was nerve-racking walking up there with people’s eyes on you," Bahr said.
The two seventh-grade girls — who are friends with Jamison — said they are happy for their classmate’s win.
"I’m fine with Zach winning," Leiser said. "I didn’t think I would make it that far."
Both girls couldn’t attend spelling practice because of extra-curricular activities such as soccer and trumpet lessons. But Leiser did her best to incorporate a little vocabulary into her busy schedule.
"I’m a figure skater and I have to practice a lot," she said. "My dad would yell out the word, and I would spell the word while doing the routine."
Leiser, who was bumped out by the word "isthmus", finished in third place. But she’s determined to come back strong.
"I have to come up with new ways to focus," she said. Why? Because it’s too boring to stare at the list of words and memorize them, she said.
As for Bahr, she’s fine with memorizing words quietly in her head. Her second-place finish represents a personal achievement over last year.
"I felt really good because I got third last year at the spelling bee at Viewmont Elementary," she said.
Demke said there was concern from parents, initially, that a spelling competition would be too tense for students. But she said the participants ended up having a lot of fun and supporting each other.
Brad Tollefson, whose son Kacey made it to the fourth round, said the event was good for the kids.
"We all tried to relax and made it a nice situation for the kids," he said. "The kids were prepared and organized, polite and respectful."
Both Tollefson and Demke said that with today’s technology, kids are more prone to rely on acronyms or spell-checking programs.
"In our culture nowadays, especially in adolescents, that skill is dwindling as students aren’t taking notes of what they’re spelling," Demke said.
She also noted another benefit of the spelling bee.
"It creates a place for students where they’re recognized for their intellect, where they can shine."
