Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Friday's Curry County spelling bee will showcase some of the county's best spellers and aims to improve students' spelling and vocabulary skills.
"I hope it will improve the students' ability to be in front of crowds and their ability to speak," said Deanne Richardson, a third-grade teacher at Texico Elementary who will act as a judge.
"I think it's very good for their language arts skills."
According to Richardson:
"Participants should study well and try to be calm and not go to quickly. They should spell the words slowly and enunciate," Richardson said.
Ariel Kokoricha, 8, a fourth-grade student at Clovis Christian School, will participate in a district spelling bee for the first time.
"I'm excited because the words are a lot. I studied with my parents," Kokoricha said.
Oyin Kokoricha said her daughter's interest in spelling developed out of her love for reading mystery, fiction and fantasy books. Oyin Kokoricha said Ariel prepared for the competition using her iPad.
Clovis Christian School is participating in the Curry County spelling bee for the first time this year, according to CCS third-grade teacher Janella Hill.
"We want to provide our students with the same opportunities that public school students have. We believe that our students excel in academics and that going on to the county, state and nationals will be a great experience for them," Hill said.
"We know that language and math are the essential subjects that need to be mastered and this is a way to promote language in a way that's exciting and fun and to be rewarded for academics. Many times there are rewards for sports but academics need to be acknowledged as well."
