While he enjoys spelling, Evan McClelland, a sixth-grader at Starkville Academy, has learned more while competing in spelling bees than just how to spell difficult words.
He said spelling has helped him learn new ways to express himself and interact with others.
“It helps me better understand the world around me,” he said. “I also like how it helps me express my feelings better. I can use stronger words to describe how I’m feeling. I like how it’s helped me make new friends. Before I kind of kept to myself socially, at least until the spelling bee. And now I’ve come out of my shell. I’ve made friends.”
Next month will be McClelland’s second time spelling on the state level, and this year he’s determined to win there and move on to the national competition. He won the Oktibbeha County Spelling Bee, with his spelling of rooibos tea, and is one of 22 students between third and eighth grade who will compete at the state spelling bee March 2 inside Mississippi University for Women’s Poindexter Hall.
The Scripps National Spelling Bee program in Mississippi has seen significant growth over the past three years, Mississippi Spelling Bee Director Lois Kappler said. When the Mississippi Association of Educators pulled out as a sponsor in 2021, The Commercial Dispatch, the Columbus-Lowndes Chamber of Commerce and the Mississippi University for Women stepped in to save the bee ahead of the 2022 competition.
At the time, numbers had dropped considerably, Kappler said, and only 20 to 35 schools across the state were participating.
This year, 317 schools from 42 counties enrolled. About 8,000 students have competed in classroom, grade, school, district and county spelling bees since the fall. The top three spellers in each county advanced to the semifinals, which were held online for the first time this year. From that round, the state’s top 22 spellers emerged.
Kappler said the scores of the online semifinals round were impressive.
“What you’re going to see take the stage, those 22 spellers are by far our strongest spellers across Mississippi,” Kappler said. “It makes Mississippi much more competitive at the national level.”
The top two spellers at the state competition will receive a sponsored trip to Bee Week, the National Scripps Spelling Bee, at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland this May.
Seventh-grader David Heyman is preparing for his first state spelling bee. He said the more prepared he feels, the less nervous he is for the competition.
“I was a bit nervous in the school spelling bee,” he said. “But I had done tons of studying for the county spelling bee, so I wasn’t very nervous about that. Once you study more, you feel a lot better.”
The Caledonia Middle School student won the Lowndes County Spelling Bee in November, spelling Trinidadian to earn the title. For Heyman, the most exciting part of the spelling bee is competing against the other spellers.
“It’s kind of fun to be around other people who are like-minded and have a little friendly competition,” he said. “I also like the studying part because it’s just fun to know how to spell all of these really long words.”
This year the Mississippi School for Math and Science is partnering with the bee to welcome spellers to the MUW campus on March 1, Kappler said. After a welcome party, the students will tour MSMS and attend classes focused on math and robotics competitions. Spellers and their parents will meet for a practice run-through of the spelling bee during the evening.
Kappler said the welcome activities are a good time for the spellers to get to know one another and shake some nerves before the actual spelling bee.
“We often forget what is involved in a spelling bee,” she said. “It’s much more than just spelling. It is just so fun to watch as students participate in spelling bees how they develop their language skills, good sportsmanship. They’re so poised under pressure.”
McRae is a general assignment and education reporter for The Dispatch.
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