The Final Showdown

First I think I should just point out, since it is pertinent, that I am so glad spell check exists. I think it's quite possible that without the help of Google's red squiggles under my mistakes, I would be far too self-conscious to write with any authority on today's Spelling Bee final! :)

I'll get right to the meat of my post since I'm just to excited to tell a good story at the moment.

The Bee was a GREAT (that's G-R-E-A-T) success! I am so proud of the kids at school. They all worked so hard; honestly, when I think about it I tear up. I think part of it is my own sympathy because I HATED spelling with a passion growing up (I hated most things I wasn't good at growing up...hmmm). And as a learner of a second language I can also appreciate just how hard it is to make sense of words and letters and sounds. English is hard enough for native speakers to spell, but throw it in as a second language and spelling in the English alphabet... that's just impressive.

The entire school witnessed the showdown between the three winners from each cycle and it was every bit as exciting as the class and cycle level contests. We did finally end up with just one winner...although it later turned out that through our mistake a word that wasn't on the eliminated kid's list made it into the final round--Oops! We gave him a prize, apologized and called it a tie.

I'll get to the pictures now, but first I want to point out just how incredible it was that there were approximately 340 students, plus their teachers in the gym and you could hear a pin drop at the beginning of the Bee.

In case you don't know, working in a Spanish elementary school is a sure way to progressively go deaf (no joke). Not only are the kids really loud, but the teachers' number one way of shutting them up is to yell even louder...or make more noise by other means (ie. hitting the chalk board or whistling). The fact that we were in a huge gym with horrible acoustics and we only had to remind them four or five times to keep it quiet (and this was at the slightest sign of a murmur), is proof in itself of just how excited they were to watch the Spelling Bee. I think this fact alone stands as proof of our success.

Once again we asked the kids to applaud in sign language--it worked like a charm. There's something so cute about seeing a gym full of quivering hands. :) The contestants did a wonderful job, and our director (principal), who has been out of the loop with all of this, was really impressed by the kids' level and skill. I'm glad we did this in front of the whole school. Convincing the director that the whole school's participation was key to the success of the contest wasn't really that easy. But as it worked out, all the kids got the recognition they deserved, and Manolo (director) got to see just what an achievement this really is. I think the continuation next year is in the bag.

The poor little boy representing first cycle was sick and didn't come to school, but his grandma brought him during the last period so that he could compete. She came equipped with a plastic bag, in case he threw up! According to one girl in his class, he would have gotten worse had he not been able to participate. ;) He did a great job and his grandma was duly impressed.

She had been a teacher in Casariche and later at a nearby school where she served as director for 23 years. Afterwards, I went up to her to specifically congratulate her on her wonderful grandson, and she said, "I wanted to talk to you. I just wanted to say, congratulations on a great job! These are the kinds of things that get kids motivated and excited about learning. You guys have done an excellent job." I was very touched, not only because she was a grandma of a contestant and word will get out in Casariche that this was a great event; but because she's had many years of experience as a teacher/director. She knows what she's talking about. Of course, Manolo (our director), heard all the same praise and his chest puffed up to about twice the size... part of why I say next year's contest is in the bag. Many, many of the other teachers also congratulated us on our enormous success. I am quite pleased.

Oh, by the way, did I mention that I'm working in Casariche again next year? I'm really excited by the prospect of continuing and especially of continuing the Spelling Bee. Next year my goal is to make it a county-wide contest. I want to invite other schools to participate so this can be a contest on an even bigger scale, plus, that way students would only compete with kids from their own cycle. That's obviously more fair.

So, here I sit: on my couch with a bottle of wine, a plate of cheese and my Spelling Bee pin savoring the sweet taste of success.

Happy Thursday, everyone!