Eighth graders Celine Arnobit and Natasha Bandack competed in the Honolulu District Spelling Bee held at the Academy on Jan. 18 for the second time in three years. As sixth graders, they had won the school spelling bee and went on to become the most successful competitors the school had seen in the district bee.

To prepare for the competition, both studied many lists of words based on the language of origin, including Japanese, Latin and Greek.

Seventh grade English teacher, Miriam Slate, one of the coaches, said, “The girls practiced intensely during the two weeks before the bee. Mrs. Isaacs and I took turns coaching them during lunch hours and after school. I think this was a valuable experience for them. I wanted them to experience the rigor of a contest among champions. It takes real dedication and sacrifice of time to be prepared for such an event. I believe they found this quite rewarding and they further developed their love for words.”

Arnobit said, “I think the spelling bee helps me in lots of subjects at school, but specifically English because we do the most writing in that class. The spelling bee allows me to expand my vocabulary and use words that are on a more diverse spectrum. Also, having to constantly memorize words and definitions improves my memorization skills. It helps me to stay more focused when I am studying and remember more information when I prepare for tests.”

Bandack said, “I really liked being in the spelling bee. My main motivation is my dad because he is always helping me study and is always supporting me whenever I need help. This was a really great experience and I feel like I learned a lot.”

With 34 participants, Bandack finished fourteenth and went out in the fifth round while Arnobit finished fifth and went out in the tenth round. Bandack exited on the word renegade and Arnobit exited on homburg.