Spelling Bee Goes Online

Q-U-A-G-M-I-R-E...When Jeffrey L. ('27) correctly spelled quagmire, he became Overlake's 2020 Middle School Spelling Bee Champion. 

What's even more amazing is that from the field of a dozen contestants, Jeffrey is one of the youngest! This year's spelling bee could have been cancelled due to the state mandated closure, but Overlake teachers thought we could still do it via distance learning. 

Monday morning, using Microsoft Teams, the competition was on. Jeffrey was actually the first student on the conference. "I was really excited to get started," explains Jeffrey who competed from the comfort of his home. "There's really no way to prepare for a spelling bee so I just read a lot and like to challenge myself with the words."

Jeffrey managed to go through nineteen rounds of correct spellings on his way to the championship edging out finalist Zelina M. ('27). Middle School Head Mike Davidson moderated the event and Overlake librarians judged the competition. "I’ll admit I was a bit trepidatious at running the event online, as we had never done it before," says MS Librarian Rebecca Moore. " I also knew that if issues arose, we would just adjust on the fly. The important thing was for the kids to have fun, and feel appreciated for their mad spelling skills." In the end, the only snafu were minor connectivity issues that forced Davidson to have to repeat several words. 

Jeffrey L. ('27) and Sol E. ('27) Compete as part of the Final Four Contestants

It also wasn't surprising that the students also had a lot of words familiar during the pandemic. Quarantine and isolation were easily spelled by contestants, but even when students misspelled a word, they seemed in good spirits and happy to take part in the competition. Spectators also were interested in the outcome with more than two dozen classmates, teachers, staff, and families joining the online conference. "The Spelling Bee is a fun, popular event that, like the Geography Bee and Math Olympiad, celebrates academic rather than athletic or artistic skills. It celebrates words and reading and the people who love them. As we look for ways to connect in this unusual time of separation, events that are open to the whole Middle School can provide that point of connection, as well as a reassurance that we are still the Overlake community, still going strong," says Moore. 

Unfortunately, this year's winner won't be able to represent Overlake at regional, state, or national competition as Scripps National Spelling Bee cancelled the competition due to COVID-19.  The good news for our students is that the competition was also a Green versus Gold competition with Green spellers scoring 62-points to Gold's 45.

Jeffrey L. and his family excited to have his medal delivered

Congratulations to all our participants and volunteers for such a fun event!