The spelling task was certainly not easy but thanks to their focus and perseverance, the deserving students won the competition with flying colours. The finals of the National Spelling Bee Competition, which took place on Tuesday 5th June, saw the victory of Shayaan Bassa, Andrew Ip Min Wan, Kyan Meetoo and Mae Mcginley Smith.
Benign, hypothermia, plebiscite, cockatoo, imbroglio, embezzlement, stethoscope, asphyxiate, synchronise, euphoric: These are some of the rare words that students had to spell during the finals of the National Spelling Bee Competition. Organised by the English Speaking Union (ESU), the 17th edition of this well-known competition, which was held at the Auditorium of the Mauritius Commercial Bank (MCB) at St Jean, gathered 56 students from secondary schools around Mauritius.
The competition targeted students from Grade 7 (Form 1) to Grade 10 (Form 4). The 14 students from each Grade group had to spell words one after the other and the student who made no spelling mistakes up to the end was proclaimed the winner. Between the stress and the hesitations, all students, however, tried their best. Most importantly, all participants went back with an enriched vocabulary after learning words that they had not come across before.
Nevertheless, following the excitement and tensions in the air, four students (one from each Grade group) proved that they are proficient spellers and were able to outperform others despite the high level of the competition and the challenging words they had to spell.
Mohammad Shayaan Bassa from Ebène State Secondary School (Boys) was the winner of Grade 7, Andrew Ip Min Wan from Royal College Curepipe came out first for Grade 8, Kyan Meetoo from College du St Esprit won for the Grade 9 category and Mae Mcginley Smith from Westcoast International Secondary School grabbed the first prize for Grade 10.
The grand winners went back with cash prizes from the Mauritius Commercial Bank, gifts from the US Embassy, certificates of participation and shields from the English Speaking Union. The prize-giving ceremony saw the presence of Tedde Thompson, Public Affairs Officer of the US Embassy, Bhavish Naeck, Head of Finance SBU of the Mauritius Commercial Bank, Prem Burton, Vice-President of the ESU-Mauritius.
In his address during the opening of the finals, Prem Burton, the Vice-President of the ESU-Mauritius, stated that this type of competition helps students in further developing their English language skills, especially since we study English as a second language in Mauritius. In fact, the Spelling Bee Competition aims to allow spellers to experience the satisfaction of learning new English words while enhancing their spelling and enriching their vocabulary.
The 56 participants of the finals were selected during one of the seven preliminaries, which was held earlier in the month of May at the Greenwich University Pakistan, in Ebène. This 17th edition of the National Spelling Bee Competition was organised in collaboration with the Embassy of the United States, the Mauritius Commercial Bank Ltd, Reinsurance Solutions and Currimjee Foundation.
Grade 7 Winner : Mohammad Shayaan Bassa from Ebène State Secondary School (Boys)
The timid, yet smart young boy said that he likes to participate in all kinds of competitions. “Since I am in primary school, I like to take part in competitions. I have won prizes in swimming contests. This time I decided to participate in the Spelling Bee. It was not that difficult. My brother, who is soon going to attend university, helped me practice at home.”
Shayaan shares that he did feel some stress but he was confident, as there were words that he had already come across. How did he manage to spell all the words correctly? “If I have to spell long a word, I would break it down in my mind and then spell it step by step,” he utters.
Grade 8 Winner : Andrew Ip Min Wan from Royal College Curepipe
Second time winner, Andrew explained that he practiced at home with the help of his parents. “They would pick random words from the dictionary and I would try to spell them. I also practiced at school with my teacher. I would do my own research and look out for some tricky words online. For instance, words that end with ‘ence’, which can be sometimes complicated.”
The winner of last year’s Grade 7 category confides that the words for this year’s final were definitely more difficult. Andrew shares that his secret in getting the right spelling is that he does not rush to spell the words and does not hesitate to ask for the definitions when he has doubts.
“I definitely look forward to participating next year, too. Of course, I am proud of my performance. I would encourage all students to participate, as knowing how to spell is essential for us to communicate and write.”
Grade 9 Winner : Kyan Meetoo from College du St Esprit
Kyan explains that he was confident but did not know all the words. “There were words that I had not come across before, especially those that my friends got to spell,” he utters. The student from College du Saint Esprit explains that his parents as well as his teacher helped him to practice his spelling
“The competition was definitely tough but I managed. In fact, I had thought that it would be much more difficult. It turned out well and I am very happy.” Kyan says that students have nothing to lose in participating in the Spelling Bee Ccompetition. “In fact, they have everything to gain. This is an enriching experience for all,” he underlines.
Grade 10 Winner : Mae Mcginley Smith from Westcoast International Secondary School
It is not her first attempt at the competition but it is the first time that she has won. “I did not win while participating last year and this is because I was super stressed,” reveals Mae. She was back this year with the aim of winning.
“I read a lot more and I came to know quite a few words. My parents and my sisters helped me a lot at home as well as my teacher at school. This year, however, the competition was not that easy and I even thought I was going to lose.” The student of Westcoast International Secondary School shares that she does not rush to spell the words anymore.
“I pause and I visualise the word before spelling it,” she explains. She strongly encourages all secondary school students in Mauritius to participate. “It helps you with your English and it is also a good opportunity to meet people. This competition also allows you to get recognition for your skills.”
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