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Like many top spellers, 10-year-old Ariel Kokoricha won’t soon forget the last word she spelled incorrectly in competition.
In her case, it was “lenitive,” and she was thrown off by the pronunciation – which is “len-uh-tive.” The word, which means capable of easing pain or discomfort, knocked Kokoricha out of last year’s state spelling bee, where she ultimately placed third.
At this year’s state bee, which is on Saturday she’s determined to do better.
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If you go Like many top spellers, 10-year-old Ariel Kokoricha won’t soon forget the last word she spelled incorrectly in competition. In her case, it was “lenitive,” and she was thrown off by the pronunciation – which is “len-uh-tive.” The word, which means capable of easing pain or discomfort, knocked Kokoricha out of last year’s state spelling bee, where she ultimately placed third. At this year’s state bee, which is on Saturday she’s determined to do better. “I spend about one to two hours each day studying as I have to finish homework and other activities before my 8 p.m. bedtime,” the Clovis Christian School fifth-grader wrote to the Journal in an e-mail. Kokoricha said she has especially been studying words, like lenitive, that have an unstressed vowel. She’ll face off against 39 other spellers from 24 counties, all vying for a trip to Washington, D.C., to compete in the Scripps National Spelling Bee on May 29-30, courtesy of the Albuquerque Journal and Newspapers in Education. The students, who range from 9 to 14 years old, typically qualify for a spot via a district or county bee. However, in some counties, such as Quay, only one school participated in the bee. In that case, the winner of the school bee got to automatically advance. Kokoricha qualified by winning the Curry County bee, where she correctly spelled “strudel” and beat out some familiar, and familial, competition: her younger sister, Ailsa, age 8. Ailsa came in second. There will be six spellers returning to the state bee, including 12-year-old Makenna Hittson of Des Moines Municipal Schools in Union County, who is returning for her fourth consecutive bee. A list of 500 words will be used at the state bee. Spellers get to study 300 of those words in advance. The other 200 come from the Webster’s Third New International Dictionary. The New Mexico Spelling Bee begins at 9 a.m. Saturday at Sandia Preparatory School, 532 Osuna Road NE. It is open to the public. Like many top spellers, 10-year-old Ariel Kokoricha won’t soon forget the last word she spelled incorrectly in competition. In her case, it was “lenitive,” and she was thrown off by the pronunciation – which is “len-uh-tive.” The word, which means capable of easing pain or discomfort, knocked Kokoricha out of last year’s state spelling bee, where she ultimately placed third. At this year’s state bee, which is on Saturday she’s determined to do better. “I spend about one to two hours each day studying as I have to finish homework and other activities before my 8 p.m. bedtime,” the Clovis Christian School fifth-grader wrote to the Journal in an e-mail. Kokoricha said she has especially been studying words, like lenitive, that have an unstressed vowel. She’ll face off against 39 other spellers from 24 counties, all vying for a trip to Washington, D.C., to compete in the Scripps National Spelling Bee on May 29-30, courtesy of the Albuquerque Journal and Newspapers in Education. The students, who range from 9 to 14 years old, typically qualify for a spot via a district or county bee. However, in some counties, such as Quay, only one school participated in the bee. In that case, the winner of the school bee got to automatically advance. Kokoricha qualified by winning the Curry County bee, where she correctly spelled “strudel” and beat out some familiar, and familial, competition: her younger sister, Ailsa, age 8. Ailsa came in second. There will be six spellers returning to the state bee, including 12-year-old Makenna Hittson of Des Moines Municipal Schools in Union County, who is returning for her fourth consecutive bee. A list of 500 words will be used at the state bee. Spellers get to study 300 of those words in advance. The other 200 come from the Webster’s Third New International Dictionary. Second place: Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, 11th Edition, courtesy of Merriam-Webster; and a subscription to Encyclopedia Britannica online, courtesy of Encyclopedia Britannica. Third and fourth place: A subscription to Encyclopedia Britannica for Kids online, courtesy of Encyclopedia Britannica; and a $20 gift certificate to Amazon.com courtesy of the Scripps National Spelling Bee. First through fifth place: A $50 American Express gift card, courtesy of the Albuquerque Journal and Newspapers in Education. All other spellers: A $25 American Express gift card, a Franklin Merriam Webster Advanced Dictionary and Thesaurus with Spelling Correction (electronic version), courtesy of the Albuquerque Journal and Newspapers in Education. |
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“I spend about one to two hours each day studying as I have to finish homework and other activities before my 8 p.m. bedtime,” the Clovis Christian School fifth-grader wrote to the Journal in an e-mail.
Kokoricha said she has especially been studying words, like lenitive, that have an unstressed vowel.
She’ll face off against 39 other spellers from 24 counties, all vying for a trip to Washington, D.C., to compete in the Scripps National Spelling Bee on May 29-30, courtesy of the Albuquerque Journal and Newspapers in Education.
The students, who range from 9 to 14 years old, typically qualify for a spot via a district or county bee. However, in some counties, such as Quay, only one school participated in the bee. In that case, the winner of the school bee got to automatically advance.
Kokoricha qualified by winning the Curry County bee, where she correctly spelled “strudel” and beat out some familiar, and familial, competition: her younger sister, Ailsa, age 8. Ailsa came in second.
There will be six spellers returning to the state bee, including 12-year-old Makenna Hittson of Des Moines Municipal Schools in Union County, who is returning for her fourth consecutive bee.
A list of 500 words will be used at the state bee. Spellers get to study 300 of those words in advance. The other 200 come from the Webster’s Third New International Dictionary.
Reprint story -- Email the reporter at dziff@abqjournal.com. Call the reporter at 505-823-3828
