PLEASE NOTE: At the request of spelling bee organizers, the start time for the Jackson-Clay County Spelling Bee championship has been changed to 1:30 p.m.
Last year’s Jackson County Spelling bee delivered an unforgettable duel between two finalists — one a fifth-grader, the other a seventh-grader — that stretched into overtime, lasting 95 rounds and attracting worldwide attention.
An expanded bee is back. This year’s contest included qualifiers from 102 schools in both Jackson and Clay counties who went through division competition earlier in the month. Those still standing now contend for the Jackson-Clay County Spelling Bee championship, with a single winner advancing to the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C., in May.
The bee is presented in partnership with the Mid-Continent Public Library and Local Investment Commission (LINC), and is co-sponsored by the Kansas City Federation of Teachers and School Personnel.
(Kansas City, Missouri) - They'll stand. They'll spell. And one Kansas City-area student will seize the day, moving on to Washington, D.C., and orthography's biggest stage.
An expanded Jackson-Clay County Spelling Bee concludes three weeks of competition Saturday, February 28, 2015, with a five-round division bee followed by the championship bee - all at the Library's Plaza Branch, 4801 Main St. A single winner will advance to the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington in May.
The division spelldown begins at 9 a.m., featuring more than four dozen entrants who originally were scheduled to compete in two separate bees a week earlier. Those contests were postponed by inclement weather.
Spellers still standing after the five rounds will advance to the championship bee starting at 1:30 p.m. They'll join 12 other qualifiers who emerged from a February 7 division bee.
The Jackson-Clay champion will represent the two counties in the iconic national bee in Washington, held May 24-29 and televised nationally on ESPN.
The Kansas City-area bee became a two-county competition for the first time this year, pulling in spellers from Clay as well as Jackson. A total of 102 students, ranging from third- to eighty-graders, won bees at their respective schools to qualify for division competition.
Last year's Jackson County bee delivered an unforgettable duel between two fifth- and seventh-grade finalists that stretched into overtime, lasting 95 rounds and attracting worldwide attention.
The Jackson-Clay bee is presented by the Kansas City Public Library in partnership with the Mid-Continent Public Library and Local Investment Commission (LINC), and is co-sponsored by the Kansas City Federation of Teachers and School Personnel.