Baron Fenwick

fends off word foes
By Caroline Monday
cmonday@mountaintimes.com

As spelling bee history goes, it was the widespread use of Noah Webster’s “blue-back spellers,” which were originally published in 1786, that served as the impetus for the first spelling bees.

Webster’s spellers are no longer the essential part of elementary school curriculum they once were, but spelling bees are still very present in modern education.

It was in recognition of that tradition that students representing each of Watauga County’s elementary schools gathered Wednesday morning for the annual county-wide spelling bee.

The contestants were Olivia Phillips of Bethel Elementary, Chris Grubbs of Blowing Rock, Kellie Garrison from Cove Creek, Baron Fenwick of Green Valley, Philip Goetz representing Hardin Park, Briana Byrd from Mabel, Meredith Farthing of Parkway and Willa Finck hailing from Valle Crucis. Fenwick was named champion.

Each of the contestants earned their spot at the bee by first winning their classroom spelling bee and then going on to win their respective school-wide spelling bee. As county winner, Fenwick will represent the county at the regional spelling bee in Winston-Salem in March.

The county spelling bee lasted 11 rounds, with words increasing in difficulty as the event progressed. The early rounds included words like “wrong” and “rodeo” and the later rounds had increasingly difficult words like “binoculars” and “protectorate.”

Things started out slow, with a single contestant dropping about every other round. Two players misspelled during round eight and the contest picked up from there. By the ninth round, only three opponents remained, Finck, Farthing and Fenwick.

In the end, Fenwick won by correctly spelling “embezzlement” and “nonchalant” and Finck came in second.
In order to win, the final contestant must correctly spell two more consecutive words than the first runner up.

Fenwick has his own strategy for competing, asking the judges to define each word before giving his spelling.

He said he used this strategy to make sure he knew what word he needed to spell. “It can’t hurt you to ask,” he said. Fenwick abandoned his strategy on the last word, nonchalant, he said, because he knew how to spell it and didn’t want to over think it.

As an eighth grader, this year was Fenwick’s final chance to win the county bee. He also competed last year.

Fenwick said that he was especially concerned about the competition Finck posed, calling her a “formidable opponent.” Finck’s older sister, Ledah, won the county bee last year, giving her the advantage of a family spelling bee tradition. Finck, a sixth grader, will have the opportunity to continue her family’s reign as spelling bee champions next year.

“This is one of the highlights of our year,” Gail Ford, curriculum specialist for elementary school grades said of the bee. While some school systems have abandoned spelling bees, Ford said Watauga County Schools continues the practice in respect of the tradition and as a response to great community interest in spelling.

“It is a way for children of different interests to be able to excel,” she said. Ford said the spelling bees are just one of the opportunities the schools give children to compete and showcase their talents. Other opportunities include the annual Model United Nations and geography bees. “Our goal is that every child has the opportunity to excel in some area,” she said.

Ford also noted the support the bee annually receives from community members. This year’s volunteer judges were Deborah Miller, from the Watauga County Board of Education, Dan Meyer of the Boone Area Chamber of Commerce and Amy Hiatt, media specialist for Hardin Park School. Bill Fisher from Mountain Television Network served as pronouncer.

The Winston-Salem Journal is the bee’s regional sponsor. Local sponsors include High Country Bank, the Boone Area Chamber of Commerce and Chick-Fil-A. Each school winner receives a $50 savings bond and a gift basket from Chick-Fil-A. As county-wide winner, Fenwick received an additional $100 savings bond.

Meyer announced that the chamber’s annual Spelling Bee for Grown-Ups will be held Tuesday, March 11, at the Broyhill. A portion of the money from that event will go to support the Watauga Education Foundation.

This year’s event will be somewhat different, Meyer said, as each of the participants in the county spelling bee have been invited to attend the event. Grown-up teams at the bee will have the opportunity to purchase the assistance of the young spelling aces for the event. “A lot of them can use it!” Meyer said.