Top spellers from 22 cities across Canada will compete in Regional Spelling Bees next month. Maegan Bruce, a Grade 7 student from Mamquam Elementary is one of these skilled spellers who will vie for the Vancouver Regional prize at the Orpheum theatre on March 9.An estimated 25,000 British Columbian students will have competed in the CanSpell contest this year, and about 225,000 students will have entered throughout Canada. In a time where spell-check can act as a crutch for many computer users, the Canada Post CanWest CanSpell National Spelling Bee rewards students enrolled in grades four to eight for perfecting their spelling prowess.Maegan, who has always excelled in school is already familiar with the trials of spelling bees. She qualified for last year's regional bee after achieving a high score on the school-organized pre-exam, and came within reach of the finalists in the Vancouver Region Bee by coming in eighth. The word that stumped her was, munificence ---- that as an adjective describes someone who is very generous and giving. Maegan's mother Dorothy Bruce attributes her daughter's knack for spelling to her love of reading. "She reads all the time. And if you read words again, and again and again you remember them." There are many benefits to studying and competing for a Spelling Bee. Maegan said that the competitions help her, spelling and studying skills at school.Each regional bee will select two contenders to travel to the National Final that takes place in Ottawa on April 19. The top prize at each Regional competition is $5,000 and a digital camera provided by Canada Post. Finalists in Ottawa will compete for the cup, a $15,000 prize, and a chance to compete in the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C. To study for this event, students are recommended to consult the official study guide, Spell It!, that contains about 874 words -almost all of which are divided into sections by language of origin. Examples of words in the guide are: infinitesimal, egregious, recalcitrant, hippopotamus, zephyr and pistachio. You can follow the progress of spellers or learn more about the Can West Spelling Bees at www.canspell.com.
