GREENFIELD — With just twenty seconds to think of the correct answer, spelling words like “delicatessen,” “masquerade” or “choreography” might be difficult for many adults. But elementary school students from around central Indiana had been training for that moment, and they had a chance to show off their skills at this week’s Spell Bowl.
Students in fourth, fifth and sixth grades from 11 schools gathered at Greenfield Intermediate School on Monday, Nov. 18 to compete in the local division of the Indiana Academic Spell Bowl. It was one of several sites throughout the state on an evening when hundreds of schools competed.
Maxwell Intermediate School’s “yellow class” team, a category for teams consisting only of fourth graders, placed among the top 10 in the state, landing in eighth place.
“It feels great, because we won in the fourth grade division and it’s our first time ever being in Spell Bowl,” MIS student Abbey Malet said.
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The team members of the schools with the highest scores in each of four enrollment classifications were recognized with awards at the end of the competition. The top 10 teams in each enrollment category for the state will receive a certificate to place at their schools.
Among the schools that competed here, Maxwell Intermediate School finished in first place in the yellow class as well as the blue class for students of all grade levels in schools with 187 students or more. In the red class, for teams from up to 162 students that did not include sixth-graders, Loper Elementary of Shelbyville placed first. In the orange class, for teams without sixth-graders from schools 163 students and up, Sunnyside School in Lawrence placed first.
Teachers who acted as coaches for the spelling teams said their students put in plenty of work memorizing word lists and taking practice tests. New Palestine Intermediate School coach Trent Farmer said he was proud of the dedication shown by his spellers, who came in second place in the yellow and blue categories.
“My students got up extra early and came to morning practices once a week on every Thursday. They were at school at (6:50 a.m.),” Farmer said.
Maxwell Intermediate coach Anne Tilley said her teams began practicing for the event during the second week of school in August.
“I’m very pleased with how they did today. They pulled through and worked hard and performed well,” Tilley said.
“I’m really happy for our team to win, for all of our students and our spellers. They all got good scores and I want to thank all my teammates,” MIS student Audrey Hart said.
Rather than competing as individuals as in a competition like the Scripps National Spelling Bee, each school fielded a team of spellers with students competing in one of eight rounds. In each round, students wrote down the spellings of each of seven words and were graded immediately. The school with the highest collective score in each grade level category wins.
Participating schools included Coulston Elementary School, Shelbyville; Eastern Hancock Elementary School; Greenfield Intermediate School; Hendricks Elementary School, Shelbyville; Loper Elementary School, Shelbyville; Waldron Elementary School in Shelby County; Morristown Elementary School in Shelby County; Maxwell Intermediate School; New Palestine Elementary and Intermediate schools; and Sunnyside School in Lawrence.
The competition is administered by the Indiana Association of School Principals and the Department of Student Programs, and is sponsored by Purdue University. Spelling bowls for middle and high schoolers in the state follow a similar format.
Greenfield Intermediate School teacher Hannah Myers, who helped organize the event, said the school’s third year of hosting went well.
“It was the first year with a new digital scoring system, but we thought the coaches and proctors really adapted well and did a nice job keeping the flow going and really let the kids shine. Our scores seem to just keep getting better and better every year. I think the words keep getting more challenging, but the kids seem to rise to the occasion and do a nice job.”
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Yellow class winners: Maxwell Intermediate School
Parker Aldridge, Audrey Hart, Gabby Hobbs, Abbey Malet, Hunter Pagac, Hailey Schultze, Lucy Stewart, Willow Sweet, Willa Crouch, Brooklyn Wing
Blue class winners: Maxwell Intermediate School
Nevaeh Carmichael, Peyton Cook, Jaelee Houtson, Garret Jack, Kayleigh Lund, Mason Miller, Evelyn Schurger, Chloe Shepard, Julia Steele, Lorelei Swanson
Red class winners: Loper Elementary School
Loraine Jones, Brody Baker, Wyatt Armstrong, Kashton Laycock, Caleb Wilhere, Raylee Williams, Apollo Brennan, Kody Sellers, Walter Reed, Erin Barnum, Preston Pierce, Trinitee Fitz, Steven Parnell
Orange class winners: Sunnyside Elementary School
Emily Robles-Teles, Giancarlos Ponce, Nasir McElwain, Nicholas Chavez, Bella Barahona-Medrano, Kanaan Bell, Jeremiah Sullivan, Cameron Brown, Jeriah Self, Kian Yates, Haley Nichols, Jennifer Garcia-Quezada, Terian Jones
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