GoodHeart | Young champion crowned in Little Bee Spelling Competition
Published:Saturday | June 3, 2023 | 1:08 AMKeisha Hill/Senior Gleaner Writer
Zayne Thomas jumped into the top spot at the Kiwanis Club of New Kingston (KCNK) Little Bee Spelling Competition after he spelt the word ‘grasshopper’ correctly. Thomas, a student of Junior World Learning and Activity Centre, emerged ahead of Emmanuel Hunter from Amy Bailey Basic School and Amare Green of the Jamaica House Basic School, as the competition was held for the second time since the onset of the coronavirus.
Under the patronage of the club’s past president, Audrey Brown, 23 schools participated in the 2023 competition. The children prepared for the competition using the I Can Spell App which enables students to utilise their smart devices to help them study words. All schools were provided with tablets to facilitate their preparation by GraceKennedy Remittance Services, the major sponsor for the competition.
The KCNK Little Bee Spelling Competition is a service project aimed at improving the learning and literacy skills of children. Launched by the Kiwanis Club of New Kingston in 2002, under the Young Children Priority One (YCPO) Committee, the competition is for boys and girls, aged four and five years old, who attend early childhood institutions, which are also known as basic schools and prep schools.
The YCPO projects are focused on the needs of young children. Literacy development is an important aspect of a child’s development, and, as such, the Little Bee Spelling Competition was born. Over the years the competition has grown tremendously, from the first competition having six participants to the staging in 2019 of 41 participants.
The competition takes place over a four-month period, from February to May each year, and consists of four components: a launch ceremony where the booklet containing approved words and tablets are distributed, a spell–off among the participating schools where the top-10 spellers are chosen and the final spell-off which is held in the month of May to commemorate Child’s Month.
According to Club President Aldrie Henry-Lee, they are extremely pleased to have implemented such an important project since 2002.
“The Little Bee Competition builds confidence in our young ones, enhances spelling, memory and communication skills. We were delighted by the self-assured and self-confident way in which all contestants faced the challenge of the competition. Special congratulations to our young champion,” Henry-Lee said.
At the finals, trophies, prizes and educational gifts were awarded to the spellers in the various categories, such as Champion Speller, Champion School, Champion Girl and Boy. All 10 participants were recognised with a token.
The KCNK was chartered in 1989, and is the first all-female club in the Kiwanis movement in Jamaica.