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Wea fifth-grader wins county spelling bee PDF Print E-mail
Education - Activities
Written by Kristen Waggener   
Wednesday, 11 February 2009 09:00
Holy Rosary-Wea Catholic School fifth-grader Cale Schneider is on his way to the state spelling bee in Great Bend, Kan., and he certainly had to earn it Friday during the Miami County spelling bee at Paola Middle School.

Friday’s competition pitted 18 top spellers from nine different schools in Miami County against each other for the chance to move on to the state level. The field eventually was narrowed down to only Schneider and Paola Middle School eighth-grader Zach Holtz — but the competition had only just begun.

Schneider and Holtz started their head-to-head battle by combining to spell more than a dozen words correctly, going back and forth with each other, neither missing a beat. Finally, both started to miss a few words, but neither could capitalize on the championship word necessary to claim victory.

“Rotunda,” “guitar,” “refugee,” “cafeteria,” “synopsis,” “mirage,” and “amnesia,” were all spelled without problems, but the superb spellers did have trouble with “desiccate,” “physique,” “chalupa,” “juggernaut,” “megalopolis” and “tamale.”

Both spellers missed opportunities to seal the deal with a championship word, but Schneider finally secured victory when he correctly spelled “preemptive.”

Spelling bee coordinator Rena Smith summed up the competition after the crowd of parents and relatives gave the two spellers a standing ovation.

“I don’t know about you, but I’m exhausted,” Smith said with a laugh.

Schneider was congratulated on stage by his mother, Danna Schneider, and Holy Rosary librarian Jean Stump.

Schneider said he practiced with his parents before competing in the bee, and some of the words came up Friday. One of those words, “poinsettia,” still got the best of him.

“Remember, there’s an ‘I’ in there,” his mother said with a smile.

The quiet-mannered spelling bee champion responded with a humble grin.

Schneider now will be studying for the Great Bend Tribune Sunflower Spelling Bee, which will take place March 14 at Barton County Community College in Great Bend. The best spellers from the state will compete for a chance to participate in the national spelling bee.
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