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Amelia’s Ward pupil is Spelling Bee champ
After a near three-hour long spelling showdown, it was Waynewright Marshall of the Amelia’s Ward Primary School, Region 10, who was declared winner when the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph (GT&T) Spelling Bee Competition came to an end Wednesday.
The 11-year-old Grade Six pupil was able to beat out his 10 rivals drawn from the various education districts, securing for himself a trophy, an Ipad and a cellular phone, among other prizes.
GT&T Spelling Bee winner, Waynewright Marshall celebrates with Major General (rt’d) Joseph Singh.
Though the event kicked off at the National Cultural Centre with 11 enthusiastic pupils, all of whom seemed quite familiar with the words initially presented by the moderator, Ron Robinson who is a local veteran broadcaster, it was Marshall and the District Five representative, Priya Singh, who shared the finale.
However, it took several rebound rounds before Marshall was able to spell two words correctly in succession, ahead of Singh.
Robinson, ahead of the final face-off, advised the two that whoever spelt two consecutive words correctly would be declared the winner. Marshall secured the win comfortably when he spelt “prism” and then “photosynthesis” correctly.
For placing second, Singh won for herself a Kindle, a cellular phone, a trophy and other prizes. The other competitors also received prizes including a $20,000 voucher for books.
This is the second year that the event is being hosted through GT&T’s collaboration with the Ministry of Education, according to GT&T representative Nadia DeAbreu.
Efforts were made last year to partner with the Ministry with a view of bringing on board all primary schools.
She related that not only was the response heartening from the Education Ministry, regional education officials, teachers and students, but a number of other sponsors showed immense interest by embracing the initiative last year, DeAbreu said.
The continuing sponsors this year included Cellphone Shack, Giftland Office Max, Gizmos and Gadgets, Austin’s Book Services, Air Services Limited and the Georgetown Reading and Research Centre.
Referring to the participants, DeAbreu noted that they were certainly not handpicked but rather were selected in a clean, fair and competitive manner. They came from as far as Mahdia, Arapaima in the Rupununi, and Number 68 Village on the Corentyne.
GT&T’s Chief Executive Officer (ag), Major General (rt’d) Joseph Singh stressed that one of the gauges to measure the success of an initiative is the level of participation.
He was happy that the participants came from across the country, noting that the level of interest of both pupils and sponsors was heartening. He also expressed optimism that other corporate entities would seek to participate in ventures which he regarded as very important. He also revealed that his company has plans to continue the competition next year.
Relating her appreciation for the telephone giant’s support, Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand said that the company has been able to find innovative ways to reach students.
She admitted that it is not easy for the Ministry to undertake such tasks alone.
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