Participants and volunteers at the first tutorial session last Saturday.
PHILIPSBURG--The Rotary Club of St. Maarten-Mid Isle and the Rotaract Club of St. Martin Sunrise will hold the final tutorial for their annual Spelling Bee at the University of St. Martin (USM) on Saturday, October 5, from 11:00am to 2:00pm.
The two clubs will be hosting the Spelling Bee in October and November. It is open to nine- and ten-year-old primary school pupils. To date, 36 participants from St. Maarten and Anguilla primary schools have registered to take part.
The preliminary round kicks off at Belair Community Center on Sunday, October 20. The 10 highest scorers from the preliminary round will proceed to the semi-final round, which takes place on Sunday, October 27. The five highest scorers from the semi-final round will then head to the final round on Sunday, November 3. The semi-final and final rounds will also take place at Belair Community Center.
Parents, family and friends are all invited to come out and support the participants, said the clubs.
“The objective of this Spelling Bee is to improve literacy and enhance the students’ educational experience, while making new friends from other schools on St. Maarten and Anguilla,” they said in a press release.
The clubs planned three tutorial sessions to prepare participants for the competition, which were organised by Rotary and Rotaract’s Spelling Bee Committee.
The first session, planned for September 21, was cancelled due to inclement weather. The committee then decided to lengthen the remaining two tutorials to three hours-long (instead of two) to make up for lost time from the cancelled session.
On Saturday, September 28, 18 participants from eight St. Maarten schools gathered at USM for the first tutorial session. Rotarians from the Rotary Club of St. Maarten-Mid Isle, St. Dominic High School Interactors and Rotaractors of the Rotaract Club of St. Martin Sunrise volunteered to coach the participants.
Volunteers helped the participants to practise words and prepared participants for the different formats in the preliminary, semi-final and final rounds.
This Saturday participants will also practise spelling words in preparation for the preliminary round. All Spelling Bee participants are invited and encouraged to attend this last tutorial session, said the clubs, adding that participants will also need to continue practising in school and at home.
In the Spelling Bee, children can win great prizes, said the clubs, “thanks to the business community in St. Maarten who graciously sponsored this event. Special thanks go out to Scotiabank, who continues to be the main sponsor of this event, after being the naming sponsor for several years. A big thank you goes out to the University of St. Martin, for making their classrooms available for these sessions,” said the clubs on Thursday.
For more information about the Rotary Club of St. Maarten-Mid Isle, persons may send an e-mail to
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or visit the club’s Facebook page.
For more information on the Rotaract Club of St. Martin Sunrise, persons are asked to visit its Facebook page.
