Post by Charity on Mar 7, 2005 13:16:35 GMT -5
By David J. Lee
Odessa American
A-g-g-l-u-t-i-n-a-t-e spelled winner Saturday for a 13-year-old home-schooled eighth-grader in the Odessa American’s Regional Spelling Bee.
Rachel C. Barrett, of H.E.A.R.T. Home School, took the top prize Saturday, winning a spot at the 78th annual Scripps National Spelling Bee May 31 to June 2 in Washington, D.C.
“I’ve been doing this for a long time, and this is the first time I’ve won it,” Rachel said. “It’s unbelievable. I’m very excited.”<br>Rachel battled it out over 14 rounds of competition before claiming the victory. Eight of those rounds were solely between Rachel and Monahans Sudderth Elementary School sixth-grader Xavier Walker.
When Xavier, 12, misspelled “unannotated,” Rachel picked up that word and the following one to win.
Xavier, who was relaxed and calm throughout the competition, was still in high spirits after the match.
“It was good competition,” he said.
The 12-year-old Monahans student said spelling comes naturally to him because of his love of reading.
“I just like to read stories,” he said. “I’ve always liked to read a lot.”<br>Early in the third round of play, Xavier’s mother, Felicia Amos, said she was nervous for him.
“I’m scared, but I don’t think he’s worried at all,” she said.
Sharon Heath, Xavier’s teacher, said she wasn’t surprised by his success.
“He’s a neat kid,” she said. “He’s an avid reader. He’s a participant in the science fair. He does everything.”<br>Rachel and Xavier went through 14 rounds of play to defeat 30 other participants. And though — with the exception of Rachel — each student had to take their turn walking off the stage, OA Publisher Patrick Canty told them before the match that they could hold their heads high.
“The fact that you’ve gotten here is an incredible accomplishment,” Canty said. “… Don’t be sad for too long.”<br>Canty commended the students on making it past city rounds to the regional meet at Odessa College. Students came from as far away as Kermit, Monahans and Sweethingyer.
“You’ve all gotten here by working hard,” Canty said.
“Spelling is the building block of literacy,” Canty added. “If you spell well, you’ll read well. If you read well, you’ll be successful in life.”<br>Cecilia Serrato said she was proud of her son Jonathan Ortiz for his competition.
“He challenges himself to read big words, to expand his vocabulary,” she said.
Jonathan went out on the word “agronomy.” But, he said he still enjoys spelling.
“I like that most people can’t express themselves with it,” he said.
Rachel’s mom, Juleanne Barrett, said she was excited for her daughter’s accomplishment.
“I’m very proud of her,” she said. “She studied very hard.”<br>In fact, Rachel said she knew the words and was enjoying the competition a lot.
“To be honest, I thought about throwing the last word, just so we could keep on going,” she said.
And she will get to keep going in a manner of speaking. Rachel and her family are being treated to an all-expenses paid trip to Washington, D.C., to compete in the national bee. Rachel said she’s honored to be taking the trip.
“This is really special to me because it’s my last year to be able to compete,” Rachel said. “I’m going out with a bang.”
www.oaoa.com/news/nw030605b.htm
Odessa American
A-g-g-l-u-t-i-n-a-t-e spelled winner Saturday for a 13-year-old home-schooled eighth-grader in the Odessa American’s Regional Spelling Bee.
Rachel C. Barrett, of H.E.A.R.T. Home School, took the top prize Saturday, winning a spot at the 78th annual Scripps National Spelling Bee May 31 to June 2 in Washington, D.C.
“I’ve been doing this for a long time, and this is the first time I’ve won it,” Rachel said. “It’s unbelievable. I’m very excited.”<br>Rachel battled it out over 14 rounds of competition before claiming the victory. Eight of those rounds were solely between Rachel and Monahans Sudderth Elementary School sixth-grader Xavier Walker.
When Xavier, 12, misspelled “unannotated,” Rachel picked up that word and the following one to win.
Xavier, who was relaxed and calm throughout the competition, was still in high spirits after the match.
“It was good competition,” he said.
The 12-year-old Monahans student said spelling comes naturally to him because of his love of reading.
“I just like to read stories,” he said. “I’ve always liked to read a lot.”<br>Early in the third round of play, Xavier’s mother, Felicia Amos, said she was nervous for him.
“I’m scared, but I don’t think he’s worried at all,” she said.
Sharon Heath, Xavier’s teacher, said she wasn’t surprised by his success.
“He’s a neat kid,” she said. “He’s an avid reader. He’s a participant in the science fair. He does everything.”<br>Rachel and Xavier went through 14 rounds of play to defeat 30 other participants. And though — with the exception of Rachel — each student had to take their turn walking off the stage, OA Publisher Patrick Canty told them before the match that they could hold their heads high.
“The fact that you’ve gotten here is an incredible accomplishment,” Canty said. “… Don’t be sad for too long.”<br>Canty commended the students on making it past city rounds to the regional meet at Odessa College. Students came from as far away as Kermit, Monahans and Sweethingyer.
“You’ve all gotten here by working hard,” Canty said.
“Spelling is the building block of literacy,” Canty added. “If you spell well, you’ll read well. If you read well, you’ll be successful in life.”<br>Cecilia Serrato said she was proud of her son Jonathan Ortiz for his competition.
“He challenges himself to read big words, to expand his vocabulary,” she said.
Jonathan went out on the word “agronomy.” But, he said he still enjoys spelling.
“I like that most people can’t express themselves with it,” he said.
Rachel’s mom, Juleanne Barrett, said she was excited for her daughter’s accomplishment.
“I’m very proud of her,” she said. “She studied very hard.”<br>In fact, Rachel said she knew the words and was enjoying the competition a lot.
“To be honest, I thought about throwing the last word, just so we could keep on going,” she said.
And she will get to keep going in a manner of speaking. Rachel and her family are being treated to an all-expenses paid trip to Washington, D.C., to compete in the national bee. Rachel said she’s honored to be taking the trip.
“This is really special to me because it’s my last year to be able to compete,” Rachel said. “I’m going out with a bang.”
www.oaoa.com/news/nw030605b.htm