The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Spelling Bee

  • Lad beats 70 others to win Spelling Bee

    Lad beats 70 others to win Spelling Bee

    King Solomon International Schools, Ewet Housing Estate, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, has emerged the overall best in the state’s spelling Bee held in Uyo, the state capital. The school won the first and fourth place in the senior and junior categories.

    Fourteen-year-old Master Daniel Uyoatta Emah, an SS2 science pupil, won the first position in the competition for the schools.

    Daniel shoved aside over 70 other contestants from across 35 schools that slugged it out at the finals which held at the Ibom e-Library.

    The competition organised for the state by the National Youth Service Corps-Community Development Service (NYSC-CDS), Akwa Ibom State, with the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the state Ministry of Education, comprised all public and private schools in the state.

    The Project Coordinators, Nsofor Chidibere and Adeshakin Adefemi, said it was in fulfilment of one of the eight objectives of the MDGs which is the promotion of Universal Basic Education, taking into cognisance the efforts of government in deepening education through the free basic education Akwa Ibom State currently operates.

    Chidiebere said:  “The project was carried out to help pupils improve their spellings, increase their vocabularies, learn concepts, and develop correct English usage that would help them all their lives and reward them with prizes to impress upon them early in life that there is dignity in labour even as we strive to foster a team spirit and sportsmanship within them”.

    President of the group, Okpala Francis said the challenge was conducted in two parts- JSS and SSS with two representatives for each school. According to him,  Nnemeka Oliver Chinedu, representing Graceland High School emereged the first runner up, while Emediong Etim Evans from Jesus Saves Comprehensive Secondary School came third.

    For the junior category: Nmemma Nnaji from Heritage College slammed  Inimfon Jonah of Rayfield International School and Aduese Henry Udoekong of Royal Christian Secondary School both who emerged fist and second runners up in that order.

    Expressing his happiness, Daniel, the overall winner, said: “The competition was tough and tasking but I give glory to God for the gift of wisdom.” Daniel also appreciated his school for giving him the chance.”

    Daniel’s class teacher, Mr Umoh Edidiong described the contest as a tough as the organisers went outside secondary school studies content.

    Umoh, who is also the Head of English Language Studies of King Solomon Schools, said management decided on Daniel based on his versatility across many subjects.

    The Director of Educational services in the Ministry of Education, Prince Lawrence Udofia, who represented the Permanent Secretary Ministry of Education, Mrs Roseline Essien, advised that spelling drilling exercises should be incorporated in the first period of every school hour in schools in the state.

    Chidiebere appeals for more sponsors to join them so as to affect more children positively.

  • Winners emerge at Tastee Spelling Bee competition

    Winners emerge at Tastee Spelling Bee competition

    The annual Tastee Spelling Bee Competition has come and gone with three popular Lagos Nursery and Primary Schools emerging winners. The one day event took place at the cozy, large hall of Tastee Fried Chicken Festac Town branch eatery. After an intensive competition, the winner’s trophy went to the First Prize winning school New Hall International school, Lekki, who was represented by Isaac Inemesit Abasi.

    The Second Prize went to Corona School, Ikoyi, represented by Imo-Imo Ukpong, while the Third Prize went to Pampers School, Surulere, and was represented by Eshiotse Hemuagbor. The competition had a robust participation with 50 schools competing for the three winning positions.     The winners all went home with juicy prizes among them a brand new Ipad, computer Laptops and numerous gifts from other corporate organisations that also supported the event.

    For the group of boys and girls from the competing schools that were also inside the cozy hall to cheer up their representatives, the organisers of the event Tastee Fried Chicken ensured that they had a swell time enjoying every moment of the day.

    The competition was anchored by Cool Fm popular presenter, Mannie, while presentations were done by the Acting Managing Director of Tastee Fried Chicken Mr Bode Ogunsanwo and Dr Fowoke Akinleye a member board of directors Tastee fried chicken.

  • Teen wins Spelling Bee

    Teen wins Spelling Bee

    •To witness U.S. version

    For winning the Spelling Bee competition 2015 organised by Young Education Foundation, Chinenye Onyiyechi Onwubhuwa of Cherry Field College, Abuja, will be traveling to the United States to witness the 88th edition of the renowned Scripps Spelling Bee Competition in Washington DC.

    Chinenye beat 44 other pupils from two states (Oyo and Lagos) as well as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in the final to emerge winner.

    She is being sponsored on the trip by Beta Malt, Indomie, Voltic, Etisalat, and Virgin Atlantic.  She will also be the face of Beta Malt for the next one year – with her photograph and her school’s name beamed on billboards across the country – in addition to a year’s supply of Beta Malt drink.

    The representative of the Young Education Foundation, Mr. Akinleye Olu Philips, said their version of the spelling bee was different from others.

    “It is a total package.  We look at the educational modules in Nigeria and realised that kids most times are not composed when they are standing up to issues. We made our primary ethics of spelling bees composure. Students must learn composure for them to win,” he said.

    The Principal of the college, Mrs Olga Igbo, expressed satisfaction with the school’s success in the competition, especially as another pupil of the school, Okechukwu Odo, came fifth.

    She said that the credit goes to teachers of the Cherrfield College, whom she described as hard working.

  • Woman truck driver’s son wins Spelling Bee

    Woman truck driver’s son wins Spelling Bee

    As a 15-year-old lad, if you were asked to spell the word ‘Cookaleekie’ would you have succeeded?

    Obviously many would not; and this was the scenario at the grand finale of the Spelling Bee competition organised by the Lagos State Ministry of Education Wednesday last week.

    Fifteen year-old Olabanji Edun, a pupil of Army Children Senior Secondary School, Onigbongbo, broke the jinx to emerge the 2014 ‘One Day Governor’.

    Miss Blessing Azeez of Keme Balogun Senior College, Ibeshe and Master Elijah Macaulay of Ojota Senior Secondary School, Kosofe emerged second and third respectively.

    Interestingly, Olabanji is the son of a truck driver mother with the Lagos State Waste Management, Mrs Blessing Edun, and a cabinet maker father, Mr Olasukanmi Edun.

    Ebun got a N250, 000 cheque; Blessing took away N150, 000 while Balogun went home with N100, 000 in addition to an all-expense-paid trip to Finland on exchange programme courtesy of the Lagos State government.

    Excitement gripped the Adeyemi Bero hall in Alausa, Ikeja, venue of the evfent, as the often palpitating students, one after the other, stood from their seats at one corner of the podium, walked up to the microphone and spelt a word that either saw them move further in the contest, or sent them packing.

    Some of the words that evicted other participants include: toupee, ottoman, pachyderm, Styx, tagliatelle, inchoate, lycee, asseveration, tessitura, blitzkrieg, plagiarise, lollapalooza, haemorrhoidectomy, nyctophobia, phylloquinone, millennial and bamboozle.

    Ahead of the four finalists that eventually bowed to Edun, the thorny words had earlier sent 52 participants that had prepared vigorously for the contest off the podium.

    Olabanji’s triumph, he told our reporter, was a result of a tutor he sought to drill him in spelling for 18 months ahead of the competition. His belief in divine intervention, he further explained, made him attend the contest fasting.

    He recalled that as the competition progressed, the words became a harder nut for him to crack, and he feared going home empty handed.

    “I had to relax and reconstruct the words again just like my coach taught me before I could get it right. Another thing is that, I had only 15 seconds to spell each word given, so I was scared” he said.

    Speaking to The Nation on phone, Mrs Edun described Olabanji as a hard worker at home and school. “He helps me with the house work when I come back and then goes on to read his book from 9pm to 11pm everyday. He sleeps and wakes up to read from 3am to 5am.”

    Lagos State Commissioner for Education, Mrs. Olayinka Oladunjoye noted that the competition which started in 2001, aims to inculcate healthy reading habits in children propel them to greater heights and encourage keen competition which has been the hallmark of the competition.

    “The overall goals of the competition are to help students improve their spelling skills, increase their vocabulary and develop correct English usage; creating good reading habits that will lead to better academic performance; and boosting the confidence of participants with a view to preparing them for future endeavours,” she said.

     

  • Pupils win Spelling Bee contest

    TWO pupils Bolaji Ayomide and Busari Idris have emerged winners in the Agbado Ijaiye local council Spelling Bee Competition.

    The event, which held at Meiran Model College Meiran, Lagos, drew competitors from the 19 public schools, (11 junior and eight seniors) in the council.

    The wife of the council’s Chairman, Mrs Janet Arogundade, who chaired the ocassion, said the Spelling Bee competition, a baby of the New Era Foundation, a pet programme of the wife of former Lagos State Governor, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, is organised yearly in all the 57 councils in the state; winners at the councils’ level will flex muscles with their counterparts at the grand finale.

    Represented by her Special Assistant, Mrs E.O. Ogunjale, Mrs Arogundade stressed that many talented pupils have emerged through the programme, making the Lagos State Ministry of Education to adopt it as an annual exercise. She added that the programme encourages students’ reading habit and healthy academic rivalry.

    Arogundade, implored contestants to make the council proud by winning the trophy at the grand finale so that the Agbado/Oke-Odo council will produce the next ‘One day Governor’.

    Bolaji, an 11-year-old pupil of Alimosho Primary School, Alaguntan, said “My joy was undiluted seeing myself as the winner of the 2014 Agbado/Oke-Odo LCDA’s spelling Bee competition, despite that this is my first time to partake in such programme.

    Similarly, Busari Idris, of Meiran Community Senior High School, vowed to work harder with his colleague.

    The council’s Supervisor for Education, Felix Lomuwa-Fanegan said he was hopeful of a better performance from the duo.

     

  • Spelling Bee challenges pupils to read

    Founder of the National Spelling Bee Competition Mr Samson Umogu has urged youths to develop themselves and stop thinking of cutting corners.

    Mr Umogu, who spoke to secondary school pupils during the National Spelling Bee Competition (NASCON) at the University of Lagos (UNILAG), said poor performance in English language is a consequence of pupils’failure to develop themselves.

    Umogu lamented the poor reading culture among youths, which results in failure in public exams on English Language.

    He said:”We realise that many Nigerian students don’t do well in English language. Look at the JAMB and WAEC results for example, close to about 80 per cent of students that wrote the examinations failed.”

    However, with NASCON he said pupils would be challenged to prepare themselves. He added that the competition aims to promote English language proficiency among secondary school pupils.

    “You realise that whether you like it or not, all subjects are taught in English. Even you find Yoruba teachers talking in English sometimes. So, we felt that by the time they know that there’s a competition that needs them to get prepared they won’t be looking for ways to cheat,” he said.

    Umogu, who said the contest is the first of its kind at the national level, added that NASCON intends to sustain it yearly.

    “The reason we are doing this is because we want the students to know that someone notices them when they excel. One of those possibilities is to take them round Nigeria for the competition,” he stressed.

    He lamented that response from ministry of education was low and not so encouraging, despite the fact that states spend money for their pupils.

    NASCON Executive Director, Mrs Caroline Eyewuoma said the organisation is trying to improve the standard of education. “We are trying to improve English standard, especially in pronunciation,” she added

    The competition, which is the second edition, featured secondary school participants from Delta, Bayelsa, Cross River, Kwara and Lagos. Finalists were pruned to 40 for the grand finale at UNILAG.

    Winners at the regional level were given dictionaries, exercise books, and pens.

    Miss Zekere Ojochenemi, of Baptist Model High School emerged overall winner in the competition of while Master Obileye A. Oladipupo of ISL Akoka, and Master Mathias Isaac of Ajayi Crowther Memorial College, Bariga, emerged first and second runners up respectively.

    Ojochenemi won the star prize of N250,000, while masters Oladipupo and Ajayi got N150,000 and N100,000 cash prizes.