Spelling champs named at bee
POLSON — Several Lake County Homeschoolers met Friday night and put on their spelling spectacles to compete for a spot in the Lake County Spelling Bee.
Fifth through eighth graders took their chairs in the New Life Christian Center in Polson, and let judge Rachel Lonnevik do her job. Lonnevik asked the children how to spell words whose origins ranged from Latin, Spanish, French and more.
In order to make the challenge less challenging, as few like to be put on the spot in front of an audience, adults joined with the spellers in a practice round before the official contest began.
The winner of the practice round was homeschool graduate Emily Lonnevik, 21, who was able to spell the words “impetuous” and “ambivalent” correctly. Emily told the Leader she “just likes spelling.”
After the queen of the practice round took her throne, all the younger bees took their seats in front of the audience. Emily would not be the queen for long, as a younger bee was patiently awaiting her chance to dominate.
Anjeli Doty, an eighth grade homeschooler, had been practicing for months, preparing her mind for the word jumbling that would befall her that night. She got ready for the competition weeks before, as she studied a Meriam-Webster packet her mother printed out for her and fellow homeschoolers.
“I look at the tips page,” she said. “I usually did a page a day.”
Even though this was Doty’s first spelling bee, she took home the bee crown as she was the last one standing. Doty will go on to the Lake County spelling bee today at 6:30 p.m. in the Ronan Performing Arts Center.
She will not be alone though.
Runner-up Jemimah Murphy, an eighth grader as well, will join Doty at the county bee. She was a tough contender.
As Doty has a knack for spelling words upon hearing them, Murphy relies more on a word’s meaning and said that her love of fantasy novels also helps introduce new words to her.
“If I don’t know what a word is I look it up,” she said, adding that her parents often prompt her to do so.
Murphy was encouraged to participate in the bee when she got word that her rather brainy younger brother Connor would be competing.
“He’s in the same math as me and gets better grades,” Murphy said of Connor, who is two years younger than her. “He used to know pi to 101 digits.”
While the older children treated audience members to precise spelling, younger children had a bee of their own in an adjoining room. Faith Doty, 16, led the miniature spelling bee, whose winners were tied for first after spelling eight words correctly. Laura Brown, 9, Myra Gilge, 8, Shannon Murphy, 9, and Jesse Doty, 9, took home eight cutout words that ranged in difficulty from “tack” to “lime.”
Older speller Anjeli was awarded ultimate speller Friday night, and Jemimah followed after out-spelling and outlasting not only Connor, but all remaining competitors.
Doty’s winning words were “slapstick” and “sleuth.”