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2013 NM SpelliNg BeeThe Albuquerque Journal and Newspapers in Education are again sponsoring the NM Spelling Bee. It is scheduled for March 23, 2013 at Sandia Preparatory School in Albuquerque.

The NM Spelling Bee is the qualifying bee for 25 NM counties for the Scripps National Spelling Bee: Bernalillo, Catron, Cibola, Colfax, Curry, De Baca, Guadalupe, Harding, Hidalgo, Lea, Los Alamos, McKinley, Mora, Quay, Rio Arriba, Roosevelt, San Juan, San Miguel, Sandoval, Santa Fe, Socorro, Taos, Torrance, Union and Valencia.Albuquerque and Rio Rancho school district bees take the place of a county bee. Private and parochial schools, charter schools and home-schooled students in Albuquerque have separate bees and follow the same rules as county bees. Their champions advance to the NM Spelling Bee.Schools must enroll by October 15, 2012. The fee per school is $115. Payment includes access to study materials for students, pronouncer guides for classroom and school bees, ideas for conducting bees, award certificates, the Teacher’s Beehive newsletter and the official rules. Your school will receive two subscriptions for Encyclopedia Britannica Online For Kids if you pay by September 30, 2012.

The spelling bee is open to students who have neither turned 16 nor passed 8th grade on or before February 1, 2013, and who attend schools that are officially enrolled. For more eligibility requirements go to www.abqnie.com. Scripps National Spelling Bee does NOT accept purchase orders. Checks and credit cards only.

Need Help? The NM Spelling Bee contact is Karen Kehe, NM Spelling Bee Coordinator, at 505-823-3516 or kkehe@abqpubco.com.

Timeline1. By October 15, the spelling bee coordinator

at each participating school should enroll at www.spellingbee.com and download the Scripps National Spelling Bee Materials.

2. The school spelling bee coordinator will distribute study materials to teachers and students.

3. During the fall/winter, school spelling bee coordinators will conduct spelling bee programs at classroom, grade, and/or school level. These should be completed by January 3, 2013.

4. School bee coordinators should report their champion(s) to their county coordinators. The number of spellers per school is up to the county coordinator. County bees should be held by January 27, 2013.

5. County coordinators should send registration information on their champion(s) to the NM Spelling Bee Coordinator no later than February 1, 2013 or entry is not guaranteed.

6. The top spellers from the county bees compete in the NM Spelling Bee on March 23, 2013.

7. The final champion of the NM Spelling Bee advances to the Scripps National Spelling Bee in May 2013 with an all-expense paid trip to Bee Week in Washington, D.C.

Conducting Your BeeThere is no right or wrong way to conduct classroom and school spelling bees. Tips for conducting bees, can be found at www.spellingbee.com. Click on the “how to” tab and the “rules” tab.

• The NM Spelling Bee is extremely dependent on school officials to organize local bees and to communicate with teachers and students and their parents with accurate information.

• Each school organizes its own bee and sets its own bee date. Continued on back page

8. Make a BIG DEAL out of your bee. Decorate, have ribbons, certificates, and trophies. Invite the principal/superintendent/news media.

*Students should participate in classroom-level contests and proceed through preliminary contests, such as a school bee and a district bee which culminate in the county level bees.

County BeesThese are the intermediate level bees after school bees, but before the NM Spelling Bee.

Words are from the District Pronouncer Guide (not to be shared with students and parents). There are 350 words made up of 75 words from grade-level study lists, 175 from 2013 Spell It!, and 100 from Webster’s Third New International Dictionary and its addenda section, copyright 2002, Merriam-Webster, Inc. Students and their parents must know this! A meeting with parents before the bee is a good idea. Karen Kehe can help you if you need to have printed guidelines to give to parents.

District Pronouncer Guides may be downloaded from the national site beginning October 16, 2012.

Important Dates October 15: School enrollment ends. Fall: Students prepare. End of Fall: School spelling bees. December 14: Late enrollment ends. January: County/District Bees held. January 3, 2013: School spelling bees completed. January 27: County/district bees completed. February 1: Registration for NM Spelling Bee deadline.

• Provide rules to your spellers, pronouncer, and judges before the bee, and then read them at the bee. Be prepared to answer questions. It alleviates potential problems. Include something that states that the judges are in control of the bee and their decisions are final. The state rules are at www.abqnie.com. The national bee rules are online at www.spellingbee.com. You may use either, or rules of your own.

Suggestions1. Write down your log-in ID and password in a

safe place where you can find it.2. Print and read your materials from the

national website.3. Plan the date, organization, and word selection

for your bee. Use your pronouncer guides to plan your bee.

4. Distribute bee information and study materials. Inform teachers, students, and parents about procedures, study materials, rules, deadlines, and dates for your school bee. Make sure the level of study words you give students matches the level of words you will use in your bee.

5. Make sure students know that the bee is not like a spelling test. Only the judges know which words are to be used. Progress from easy to more difficult words, but do not backtrack. Conduct a practice round so students feel comfortable with the procedure and how to adjust the microphone.

6. Pick pronouncers and judges who have excellent listening skills and understanding of diacritical markings. They should have confidence in interacting with students. The pronouncer should have a clear speaking voice. All officials should be familiar and comfortable with your rules. Pick impartial officials.

7. Spellers should know their role and what questions they may ask the pronouncer.

What’s the Buzz? It’s

SpelliNg Bee TiMe!

Spelling enhances literacy! exploring Words is Fun!Spelling Bees are Cool! learning is life!

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