Spotlight on Spellers on Monday Night at the Frost

On Monday, four students from each of the district’s five elementary schools and Culver City Middle School will compete in a district-wide spelling bee at the Robert Frost Auditorium, 4401 Elenda St., on the high school campus..

The competition, sponsored by Westfield Fox Hills, will begin at 7 p.m. Admission is free, and the public is invited.

“Every year, millions participate in spelling competitions around the country,” said Superintendent Myrna Rivera Coté. “We are excited that we will be having our fourth annual spelling bee. It’s an exciting event that I hope everyone will come and watch.”

The winner of the Culver City Spelling Bee will advance to the countywide competition on Wednesday, March 18, and the winner from the County will advance to the state spelling bee in Sonoma in May.

In addition, the Culver City winner will receive a $250 savings bond from Westfield Fox Hills. Second- and third-place finishers also will receive savings bonds, and every participant will receive a certificate.

All 4th, 5th and 6th-grade students throughout the District will have an opportunity to compete.

How It Came to Bee

This is the fourth year that the County Office of Education will hold its Spelling Bee. The first National Spelling Bee was launched in Kentucky by the Louisville Courier-Journal in 1925. With competitions, cash prizes, and a trip to the Nation’s Capitol, the Bee was intended to stimulate “general interest among pupils in a dull subject,” one of America’s earliest stimulus packages.

The Scripps Howard News Service took over the Bee in 1941. Over the years, the Bee has grown from a mere 9 contestants to the 2005 high of 273. The County Spelling Bee, however, is not associated with the Scripps Howard competition.

For fun, check the winning words that made spellers into national champions in the Scripps Howard event over the past 16 years: