$1,000 Spelling Bee
Each spring, Justin Rudd and his nonprofit 501c3 Community Action Team (CAT) host the National Elementary School Spelling Bee. First prize is $1,000! The 9th Annual event will be held in 2010 in Long Beach, Calif., 90803. Public, private, parochial and home-schooled students are welcome.
I have always been a fan of competition. As a student I participated in lots of contests -- YMCA sports; art, drama, choral & instrumental competitions; geography & science projects; spelling bees and more. When I first moved to California a few years ago, I auditioned for singing/acting jobs and was fortunate to work in many movies, TV shows and several of Disney's special events around the country. My bulldog and I competed on a TV show, "You Lie Like a Dog" on Animal Planet where we won money for local animal charities. And, even today, I continue to participate in running, swimming and biking events.
Spelling is important to me. In my current profession as a publicist/event planner, I have to do a lot of writing and reviewing of press releases. Good spelling and grammar are mandatory. When I send and receive e-mail messages, I like to make a good impression by sending documents that have perfect spelling, grammar and punctuation. I don't like to rely on "Spell-Check."
I want students to learn excellent spelling habits at an early age. Hence, the creation of this elementary school-level spelling bee championship. The contest is open to the best spellers in the U.S. Hope to see you at the Bee!
With warm regards,
Justin Rudd!
Bee Organizer
g TAX-DEDUCTIBLE
Please Support the Spelling Bee
RIGHT NOW, while the need is in your mind, won't you please donate? We receive no government monies, and depend entirely on people like you.
WE HOPE YOU share our love for animals, kids and the environment, and our wish is that you'll consider a gift of $25, $50, $100 or another amount so that we can continue to bring you and our community fun events and meaningful projects.
CHECKS to Spelling Bee, Attn. Justin Rudd, 5209 E. The Toledo #1, Long Beach, CA 90803.
I AM A FIRM believer in the collective power of individuals joined in a spirit of goodwill and generous giving to bring about the success of an organization. That's why we need you to get involved.
THE MAIN PURPOSE of the Community Action Team (CAT) is to promote social well-being among the general public. As a 501c3 nonprofit corporation governed by a board of directors, contributions to CAT are tax deductible and are used to help produce quality events within our community that benefit children, animals, and the environment.
C.A.T. IS AN UMBRELLAorganization that includes Haute Dogs and: 4Halloween Kids' Costume Contest
4July 4 Kids' Bike Parade
4Dog-themed Poetry contest
4Interfaith Blessing of the Animals
4$1,000 National Elementary School Spelling Bee
4National Adult Spelling Bee
4Sidewalk Chalk ArtContest 4Haute Dogs on the Beach events
4Haute Dog Easter Parade
4Haute Dog Howl'oween Parade
4Operation Easter Basket
4Operation Santa Paws
45k/10k Long Beach Turkey Trot
4monthly 30-Minute Beach Cleanups 4Beds, Bikes, Bears & Blankets giveaway to those in need 4Clothing giveaways to the underserved 4Bulldog Beauty Contest 4Long Beach Losers - 12-week weight-loss contest 42nd Street Walkers
g Justin's Free e-Newsletters 4DOG e-News Weekly; Long Beach/LA/OC area dog news & events; 12,900+ subscribers click to subscribe free 4JUST-IN TIMES e-News Weekly; Long Beach/LA/OC area gay & lesbian news & events; 3,500+ subscribers click to subscribe free
National Elementary School Spelling Bee | Long Beach, Calif.
COMING Rudd and CAT also host the annual National Adult Spelling Bee to be held in Long Beach on May 4, 2008. ADULT BEE DETAILS
San Diego 5th Grader Wins $1,000 Bee
WINNER new The winning words were "hemorrhage" and "impasse" in rounds 15 and 16 of the 2.5-hour bee. Congrats Snigdha Nandipati, shown right. She is age 10 and attends a private school: Mission Bay Montessori Academy. Approx. 90 spellers, ranging from third to fifth grades, competed in this eight-annual Bee on Mar. 15, 2009.
2ND PLACE
The second place speller was fifth grader Catherine Han, shown left, of Anaheim Hills. She got out in round 15 when attempting to spell "dossier." She is a 10-year-old student from Crescent Elementary in Anaheim.
3RD & 4TH PLACES The two spellers, Brandon Deutsch and Brennan Caldwell, who misspelled "traipse" and "acclimatize" respectively in round seven, tied for fourth place. Three students, Giacomo McCarthy, Charlotte Laurent, and Patrick Aimone (3rd grade), were eliminated in round eight after struggling with "metropolis", "aerate", and "schwa." So, they each would have all tied for third place.
SOME MISSPELLED WORDS FROM FINAL THE ROUNDS
furlough, vaudeville, calisthenics, menagerie, dachshund, espionage, shill, rococo and anime.
CHAMPIONS & WINNING WORDS 2002 Kelli Conley, 10, Long Beach, legible and conscience
2003 Timothy Johnson, 11, Torrance, belie and indebtedness
2004 Steve Wang, 11, Palos Verdes Estates, irretrievable
2005 Gabriella Pineda, 10, Anaheim, unacceptable and tyranny
2006 Matt Buckley, 9, Temecula, psalm and theocracy
2007 Lily Wu, 9, Pasadena, precocious and cautionary
2008 Giselle Serate, 10, Rancho Palos Verdes, pharaoh and surveillance
2009 Snigdha Nandipati, 10, San Diego, hemorrhage and impasse
GET ON OUR E-MAIL LIST To get on the Nat'l Elem. School Spelling Bee and/or Nat'l Adult Spelling Bee e-News e-mail lists, CLICK HERE and input your e-mail address
Online Payments Now Accepted 4$30 rec'd by Sun., Mar. 8
4$50 rec'd after Sun., Mar. 8 WHO MAY ENTER? This bee is for U.S. students in grades 3-5. We welcome students in public, private and parochial schools, as well as home-schooled students. PARTICIPATION LIMIT There is no limit to the number of students from a school. Spellers do not have to be endorsed or entered by their school. For the 2 p.m. finals, we will accept the first 100 students to register and pay. If more than 100 students register and pay, we will have a spell-off at 1:45 to see which three spellers will advance to the 2 p.m. finals. Remember, all spellers must be present and signed-in by 1:30.
PRONOUNCERS Kate Karp (2006 Adult Spelling Bee champ) & our guest pronouncer for the first round is Grunion Gazette editor Harry Saltzgaver
TOP PRIZE
The Bee's winner will get $1,000 from Justin Rudd's nonprofit 501c3 Community Action Team (CAT).
DOOR PRIZE
Must be present at end of Bee to win: The Aquarium of the Pacific will award a prize package for the winner that includes
4 Aquarium tickets, 4 Harbor Cruise tickets, and 4 tickets to 3D film (2009).
$500 MORE IF... (This offer not for home-schoolers.) If the winning speller's teacher is present for the entire bee, the teacher gets $250 for his/her classroom. Additionally, if the winning speller's principal is present for the entire bee, the principal will get $250 for his/her school.
OUR SISTER BEE NATIONAL ADULT SPELLING BEE Sun., May 3, 2009. 4th annual. Long Beach, Calif. DETAILS
g R-E-G-I-S-T-R-A-N-T-S 2009 Registrants, so far
1. Jackie Adkins, Gardena
2. Max Dawson, Carlsbad
3. Brandon , Long Beach
4. Jason Y. Kong, Cerritos
5. Sydney McFadden, San Diego
6. Snigdha Nandipati, San Diego
7. Paolo Arguelles, Santa Clarita
8. Atharva Patil, Irvine
9. Andrew Shacker, San Jose
10. Mark Shacker, San Jose
11. Marissa Gerchick, Tustin
12. Anthony Taroian, Northridge
13. Armen Aprahamian, Tarzana
14. Dareh Simon, Tarzana
15. Tiffany Jewels Thomas, Canoga Park
16. Ryan Farrell, Moorpark
17. Armen Agopian, Northridge
18. Aleena Sorfazian, Northridge
19. Tatiana Safarian, Sherman Oaks
20. Daniel Booth, Northridge
21. Brennan Caldwell, Anaheim
22. Lynette Aslanian, Canoga Park
23. Arman Amirkhanian, Canoga Park
24. Nirali Patel, Anaheim Hills
25. Arman Basak, Canoga Park
26. Olivia Ohanian, Canoga Park
27. Natalie Cahill, Ojai
28. Bakalian Adriana, Canoga Park
29. Brenden Simon, Anaheim Hills
30. Patrick Aimone, Long Beach
31. Catherine Han, Anaheim Hills
32. Melanie Belle Besnilian, Porter Ranch
33. Suzan Bedikian, Van Nuys
34. Arron Viliamu, Long Beach
35. Isabella Mancini, Yorba Linda
36. Varsha Ramakrishnan, Pleasanton
37. Nathan Franke, Victorville
38. Alan Lee, San Gabriel
39. Amy Damir, San Gabriel
40. Page Wallace, San Gabriel
41. Edward Nenedzhyan, North Hollywood
42. Cynthia Petrossian, Northridge
43. Matthew Good, Redondo Beach
44. Timothy Lau, Torrance
45. Darlene Lie, Monterey Park
46. Josie Bender Bernstein, Tarzana
47. Jennifer Yi, Anaheim
48. Nithin Krishnamurthi, San Diego
49. Lilian Pan, Irvine
50. Adrine Sinanian, Canoga Park
51. Tristan Cox, Long Beach
52. Naehu Martinez, Carlsbad
53. Christoher Dunn, San Gabriel
54. Lyle Lalunio, Yorba Linda
55. Spencer Kim, Yorba Linda
56. Collin Chao, Long Beach
57. Tyler Racero, Long Beach
58. Matthan Fontanoza, Long Beach
59. Isabel Zavian, Valley Village
60. Talia Begi, West Hills
61. Alexandra Philips, Glendale
62. Nicholas Zemlin, Long Beach
63. Jennifer Yedigarov, Northridge
64. Alec Asatoorian, La Canada
65. SoyaZhe Barrett Hutcherson, Pasadena
66. Matilda Berke, Pasadena
67. Rhiana Boyles, La Crescenta
68. Jillian Brady, San Marino
69. Talia Dell Angelo, Altadena
70. Patrick Egan, Pasadena
71. Dylan Gomez, Pasadena
72. Arthur Harris, Altadena
73. Elly Hong, Pasadena
74. Nikola Kavaldjiev, Pasadena
75. Tony Kukavica, Pasadena
76. Charlotte Laurent, Pasadena
77. Lillian Maxfield, Altadena
78. Julia Otter, La Canada
79. Charlotte Pearson, Pasadena
80. Michael Pearson, Altadena
81. Christian Ryan, South Pasadena
82. Himmat Sahi, La Canada
83. Sophia Terille, Pasadena
84. Maya Vasquez, Pasadena
85. Anthony Alvarez, South Gate
86. Giacomo McCarthy, Pasadena
87. Adam Weaver, Downey
88. Joshua Fierro, Downey
89. withdrawn
90. Lillian Avedian, Woodland Hills
91. Dylan Gomez, Altadena
92. Connor Chyr, Hacienda Heights
93. Kelsie Khonson, Pasdena
94. Kyle Akcatel, Porter Ranch
See the 2008 word list below for words from the final rounds. And, click here for complete list.
g ALL EYES ON YOU
What's In a Word?
PLENTY, ESPECIALLY when it's the rigors of an elementary grade level spelling bee and one of the participants has the opportunity to walk home with a grand prize package that includes $1,000! Words like extraterrestrial, pollution, fiery and phylum must be spelled and spelled correctly under the watchful eyes and ears of judges. If that is not challenging enough for the young students (third, fourth and fifth graders), it must be done while their peers, who are also nervously awaiting their opportunity to shine, look on.
The National Elementary School Spelling Bee Championship is designed to help students improve their spelling, increase their vocabulary, and develop correct English usage. This contest is sure to have some nail-biting, breath-bating competitors.
ALL U.S. public, private, parochial and home schools are allowed to enter any number of spellers in the $1,000 National Elementary School Spelling Bee. Students in grades 3-5 are eligible and words began on a fifth-grade level.
STUDENTS ARE ELIMINATED from the competition after misspelling one word. The rules are fashioned after the Scripps National Spelling Bee, a contest for students up to and including grade eight.
g GOOD TO KNOW
Questions and Answers
Is there a study guide for this spelling bee?
There is not an official study booklet for this competition. All words listed in the dictionary (starting at a fifth-grade level) may be considered for this contest. Complete Rules
Who goes first in the competition?
Participants will draw numbers to see who starts first (which presents an element of risk as elimination occurs in order). Complete Rules
