Monterey County Spelling Bee is Sunday

The best middle school spellers from all over Monterey County are reading their dictionaries to prepare for the big competition this Sunday, March 8. The countywide spelling bee is sponsored by the Monterey County Office of Education and community partners.

The students will be attempting to spell their way to the grand prize of a trip to Washington, D.C., to compete in the Scripps National Spelling Bee, May 24-30, 2015.

Forty-nine students – all winners of spelling bees at their individual schools — are scheduled to compete.

The National Spelling Bee is the nation’s largest and longest-running educational promotion, and is administered on a not-for-profit basis by the W.E. Scripps Company and 280 sponsors in the United States, Europe, Guam, Mexico, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Bahamas, and American Samoa.

The purpose is to help students improve their spelling, increase their vocabularies, learn concepts and develop correct English language usage that will help them all their lives.

Sunday’s Countywide Spelling Bee is admission-free and the public is invited to attend. Note that Daylight Saving Time begins Sunday, March 8, 2015.