Anguilla’s Emily Gumbs wins Rotary/Rotaract Spelling Bee | THE DAILY HERALD

The finalists of the eighth annual Rotary/Rotaract Spelling Bee displaying their awards with smiling friends, family, supporters and event organisers.

 

BELAIR–Emily Gumbs of Anguilla’s Alwyn Allison Richardson Primary School won the eighth annual Rotary/Rotaract Spelling Bee last Sunday, November 3, beating out four other competitors. The finals took place at Belair Community Center.

  The other four finalists were St. Maarten’s Jeremiah Cantave and Kushaan Sharma, both representing Methodist Agogic Centre (MAC) Browlia F. Maillard Campus, and Anguilla’s Jansela Bruno (Valley Primary School) and Mikalia Richardson (Alwyn Allison Richardson Primary School).

  The finalists, three girls and two boys, were cheered on by a crowd of family, friends, classmates and teachers.

  The Spelling Bee was held in three consecutive rounds. The preliminary round had 35 participants from 13 schools, and the children had to write 20 selected words on a sheet of paper. The top 10 finishers from the preliminary round went on to the semi-finals.

  The 10 semi-finalists, comprising representatives of seven schools, had to spell out their words into a microphone in front of the audience and judges. The five highest finishers of the semi-finals went on to the final round.

  Caretaker Prime Minister Wycliff Smith attended the final round and thanked parents and teachers for helping the participants to get to this point. He also thanked the organisers and judges for a “wonderful event” and wished the participants good luck.

  Rotary District 7020 Assistant Governor Marcellia Henry congratulated parents for supporting and motivating their children and being present to cheer them on. She praised teachers for their dedication and selfless sacrifice to prepare the contestants to do their best.

  The judges were introduced by moderator Amanda Bedminister. The head judge was Rotary Club of St. Maarten-Mid Isle Vice President Denise Antrobus. The other two judges were Rotarians Davy Moree and Yvette Hart. The event’s timekeeper was Rotary Mid Isle President Aernout Kraaijeveld, and the logistics technician was Rotaractor Tisiana Hart.

  Hart gave an invocation and the St. Maarten Song was led by Rotary Mid Isle Secretary Grace Linger.

  The finish was very close, said Rotary Mid Isle on Tuesday. Emily came in first place and received a trophy and an Apple iMac 21.5-inch desktop computer. Her school also won a 27-inch desktop computer and a WiFi printer. Emily received a perfect score in all three rounds.

  Kushaan came in second place and received a trophy and an Apple MacBook Air laptop.

  Mikalia came in third place and received a trophy and an Apple iPad.

  Jeremiah came in fourth place and Jansela came in fifth place. They both received a Fitbit watch.

  Alwyn Allison Richardson Primary School won the prize for the most supportive school as their supporters came in large numbers for all three events, according to the Spelling Bee organisers.

  Two smart televisions (TVs) were raffled at the end of the event. Rotary Club of Anguilla Secretary Shemica Hodge won a 40-inch TV and Davina McAlmont won a 50-inch TV.

  The Rotary Club of St. Maarten-Mid Isle and the Rotaract Club of St. Maarten Sunrise thanked all sponsors and donors. “Without [your – Ed.] help we could not have held the eighth Rotary and Rotaract Spelling Bee,” said the clubs in a press release.

  The Rotary Club of St. Maarten-Mid Isle meets at Pineapple Pete in Simpson Bay on Tuesdays at 7:00pm. For more information, persons can send an e-mail to

rotarysxm.mi@gmail.com or visit the Rotary Club of St. Maarten-Mid Isle’s Facebook page.

Source: The Daily Herald https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islands/92256-anguilla-s-emily-gumbs-wins-rotary-rotaract-spelling-bee

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