Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Eleanor Shuler, left, and Angelina Kim, who finished second in the Jan. 18 Bee, are among Roosevelt County's top spellers.
Who says "gossip" never benefited anyone? It helped Eleanor Shuler win her second straight Roosevelt County spelling bee on Jan. 18.
That was the winning word for the fifth-grader who competed against nine other spellers at Eastern New Mexico University's Buchanan Hall.
After finishing 12th in the state spelling bee a year ago, Eleanor said she's had a fire in her stomach to strive higher this year.
"The spelling bee means a lot to me because I've put in a lot of work to get this far and I also would really like to represent my community at state again," Eleanor said.
Local winners must take an online spelling test on Feb. 28 in hopes of qualifying for state competition March 23.
State winners advance to the Scripps National Spelling Bee set for May in Washington, D.C.
Roosevelt County District Spelling Bee Coordinator Erika Grenko said schools were asked to select "two champions" from their school spelling bee to compete in the competition.
Grenko said the competition gives students a chance not only to show off their talent, but also earn valuable vocabulary acquisition and discipline skills.
"It makes them stronger readers and writers. That competition aspect helps them gain confidence," Grenko said.
Eleanor said with her background in performing the trumpet and her parents both being musicians, stage fright has never been an issue for her. She said she always had a passion for words and loves displaying her talents for her community to see.
In addition to spelling "gossip" correctly, Eleanor also remembered "Albuquerque" and "Ramadan" on her path to the title. She said she has an intricate and vigorous study tactic to memorize all 4,000 words contestants are provided prior to the competition.
"This year I've studied a lot harder and began using different study tactics. Last year I didn't know you couldn't use a white board at the state competition, so this year I've practiced without using one," Eleanor said.
Her goal is to win the state title this year.
Eleanor said her passion to compete in the spelling bee came from her third-grade teacher in Valencia Elementary, Deloris Garcia. She said it was learning new vocabulary words under her that she was able to find her hidden talent with spelling.
