Penn High School’s Center for Performing Arts brimmed with excitement as nearly 200 third, fourth and fifth graders from P-H-M’s 11 elementary schools participated in the 32nd annual P-H-M Elementary Spell Bowl on Tuesday (March 20, 2018). It was a full house; the seats were filled with family, friends and staff from the students’ home schools. Click to see the photo gallery below (To download a high resolution jpg file from the photo gallery, just simply click the “DOWNLOAD” button on the bottom right hand corner of the photo wile viewing it in the Photo Gallery function).

 

Each first place winning team got their picture taken with their coach, principal and Superintendent Dr. Thacker. This year's winners were a mixture from all schools. See the entire list of winners below ...

 

3rd Grade Winners: 1st place – Northpoint with 28 points, coached by Mrs. Nichol Mondy and Ms. Molly O’Rear (team pictured to right) 2nd place – Bittersweet with 25 points 3rd place – Horizon with 22 points

4th Grade Winners: 1st place – Mary Frank with 30 points, coached by Mrs. Lindsay Helman​ (team pictured to right) 2nd place – 4-way tie between Horizon, Northpoint, Prairie Vista and Walt Disney, each with 28 points 3rd place – 2-way tie between between Meadow’s Edge and Bittersweet with 20 points each

5th Grade Winners: 1st place – Northpoint with 30 points, coached by Ms. Rosane Morehouse​ (team pictured to right) 2nd place – Mary Frank with 25 points 3rd place – Prairie Vista with 24 points

 

Spell Bowl consists of three six-person teams (plus one alternate) from each of the 11 elementary schools representing grades 3, 4 and 5.

 

Preparation for the Spell Bowl takes weeks, as teams work with their teacher coaches. Preparation includes spelling under pressure, studying word lists, learning about word sources (e.g., Latin roots) and rules such as capitalization and pluralization.

 

The format used for the Spell Bowl is very similar to a test. Much like a traditional spelling bee, the host, or emcee, reads a word aloud and then uses it in a sentence. The students then have a time limit of 15 seconds to write the word on paper. The words get progressively more difficult through each round. A panel of judges reviews the answers and then posts the scores for the audience to see. Scoring is one point for each correct spelling.

 

P-H-M’s K-5 High Ability Coordinator, Mrs. Anne-Marie Reininga, is the Spell Bowl manager and works very hard to provide students with an enriching experience.

 

To download a high resolution jpg file from the photo gallery, just simply click the “DOWNLOAD” button on the bottom right hand corner of the photo wile viewing it in the Photo Gallery function.