County to crown new Spelling Bee champion on Tuesday

By John Underwood / john@gulfcoastmedia.com
Posted 2/1/19

LOXLEY, Alabama – For the second year in a row, Baldwin will crown a new champion when top spellers from throughout the county converge on the Loxley Civic Center on Tuesday, Feb. 5 for the Baldwin …

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County to crown new Spelling Bee champion on Tuesday

Posted

LOXLEY, Alabama – For the second year in a row, Baldwin will crown a new champion when top spellers from throughout the county converge on the Loxley Civic Center on Tuesday, Feb. 5 for the Baldwin County Spelling Bee.

Sean Kirby, an eighth-grade student at Gulf Shores Middle School, won the 2018 Spelling Bee Championship. He has graduated to Gulf Shores High School and is no longer eligible for the competition, which is open to students in grades three through eight.

The last repeat champion was in 2017 when Elberta Middle Scholl student Fletcher Ard successfully defended his 2016 title. Before that, Isabella Eleongo won the crown in 2013 and 2014.

A total of 36 qualifiers from Baldwin County’s elementary, intermediate and middle public schools, plus qualifiers from Bayside Academy in Daphne, Bayshore Christian in Fairhope, Central Christian School in Robertsdale and Snook Christian Academy in Foley/Summerdale, will compete in Tuesday’s spelling bee, which begins at 4 p.m. and continues until a champion is crowned.

“This has become an annual tradition and some of our students spend an entire year preparing for it,” said program coordinator Becky Turner, consulting teacher with the Baldwin County School System’s Elementary Education Department. “This event is something that takes a lot of planning and a lot of volunteer help and I’m really looking forward to a great competition.”

Classroom winners from around the county competed for the right to represent their schools at the county competition.

County public schools eligible to compete in this year’s competition include Bay Minette Elementary, Bay Minette Intermediate, Bay Minette Middle; Central Baldwin Middle; Daphne East Elementary; Daphne Middle; Delta Elementary; Elberta Elementary; Elberta Middle; Elsanor School; Fairhope Intermediate; Fairhope Middle; Foley Elementary; Foley Intermediate; Foley Middle; Gulf Shores Elementary; Gulf Shores Middle; J. Larry Newton; Loxley Elementary; Magnolia School; Orange Beach Elementary; Perdido School; Robertsdale Elementary; Rockwell; Rosinton School; Silverhill School; Spanish Fort Elementary; Spanish Fort Middle; Stapleton School; Summerdale School; Swift School; and W.J. Carroll Intermediate.

I list of participants had not been finalized by press-time. All schools may not be represented in the competition.

Winners from the county competition advance to the state competition, sponsored by Adventure Travel, which will be held May 9 in Alabaster near Birmingham. . Baldwin County’s Catholic Schools compete with Mobile County schools in district competition to qualify for the state bee and are not included with the other schools.

Winners from state competition advance to the Scripps National Spelling Bee which will be held in May 26-31 at Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in Fort Washington, Maryland, near Washington, D.C.

The nationally televised event is sponsored by the G.W. Scripps Company, based in Cincinnati. Its website, spellingbee.com, lists winners dating back to 1925.