A New State Spelling Bee Has Been Crowned!

When I was in middle school, I wanted so badly to move on in the spelling bee circuit. I was absolutely the best speller in my Language Arts class, and one of the best in the whole school. To this day, I can tell you the word that got me when I got kicked out of the 17th round of the school bee when I was in seventh grade.

The word was conqueror. Sadly, I spelled it with an 'e-r' at the end instead of the correct 'o-r'. But as my mom pointed out, I made it a bunch of rounds. And in eighth grade, I didn't even make it to the school bee. I made it to the last word in the class bee, and flubbed the word 'medicinal'. Oh well. When will I ever have to spell for a living?! Oh wait....

Well, over the weekend, Maine crowned a brand new state spelling champion according to the Portland Press Herald. Sebastian Shields from Saco took home the crown this weekend. His winning word after almost 50 rounds was 'colloid' which means a gel or emulsion. Some of the other crazy words Sebastian had to contend with were inerrancy, kith, and stoic. Sure some of those words look super easy, but I bet a bunch of adults can't even tell you what they mean, let alone how to spell them.

Local speller and  Penobscot County champ, Antionette Logan of All Saints Catholic School in Bangor went all the way to Round 39! So Bangtown was well represented almost until the very end. She slipped on the word 'reverend' by accidentally adding an 'a'. And I'll tell you, I guarantee that this awesome young lady knew how to spell the word normally, but the nerves at that level of a spelling bee are crazy.

For his big win, Sebastian will get an all-expenses trip the Scripps National Spelling Bee in late May, down in National Harbor, Maryland, which is just outside of Washington DC.

But really.... Congrats to all the kids who went to the state competition. That is an amazing feat all by itself. The only bummer is, as these young people will find out, and you'll be telling people how to spell things for the rest of your life. I'm living proof of that!