Brandon Twp.? Dynamic. Excruciate. Exhilarate. Bureaucrat. Trespassing.
These were just some of the words fifth and sixth graders faced as they competed for the top honor in the Brandon Fletcher Intermediate School’s spelling bee last Wednesday.
About 45 minutes after the bee had begun with 20 students, only two spellers remained? Daniel Penix and Kevin Kneller, both sixth graders and friends. Kevin correctly spelled ‘jurisdiction? after Daniel missed it and then correctly spelled ‘documentary? for the win.
‘I wanted to win, so I was a little nervous,? said Kevin, who came in second place in the school bee last year.
Kevin’s father, Doug Kneller, said Kevin worked hard, studying the list of words given to the kids in November. The two competed against each other in their own bees.
‘I often lost,? Kneller laughed.
Donna Preece, a sixth grade teacher at Brandon Fletcher, coordinates the annual school spelling bee, in which the top ten spellers from each grade compete. She said she tries to not make it too competitive, because she wants it to be fun for the kids. However, she also emphasizes the importance of spelling? particularly since some kids think they don’t need to know because they have spell check on their computers.
‘I tell them you won’t always have that handy,? Preece said. ‘Spelling is important, it’s a skill. You have to work at it and these kids work hard. They need to know spelling patterns and prefixes and suffixes, things like that.?
As the school champion, Kevin will go to Oakland University in March to compete in the regional spelling bee. Brandon Middle School’s spelling champion, seventh grader Antasha Malcolm will also go. The winner from Oakland County will go to the National Scripps Howard Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C. in May.
Preece believes the regional bee will be a unique experience for Kevin.
‘I tell the kids it’s 50 percent luck and 50 percent skill,? she said. ‘If you know every word but one, you might get that one word you don’t know. Other kids might not study as much, but get easy words.?
Kevin said he is not nervous about the regional bee, only excited. His mother, Sheree Kneller, thinks it will be a lot of fun.
‘He’s a wonderful student and very conscientious,? she said.