PHILIPSBURG:---Twenty-nine nervous and eager participants from sixteen schools were ready for the start of the preliminaries of the 5th Scotiabank Rotary-Rotaract Spelling Bee 2018 on Sunday at the Belair Community Center.
Before the start of the Spelling Bee the St. Maarten Song was sung by Chantoni da Cunha and Disha Sharma, followed by speeches from the Honorable Minister of Education, Culture, Youth and Sports the Honorable Minister Wycliffe Smith who stressed that the children should READ, READ, READ to advance in their spelling. Assistant District Governor Marcellia Henry emphasized Rotary’s focus worldwide on basic education and literature. The representative from Scotiabank Ms. Imelda Joseph, Manager Service & Support, welcomed everyone and said Scotiabank was honored to be here with their commitment to The Rotary Club of St. Maarten-Mid Isle and The Rotract Club of St. Maarten Sunrise for this spelling Bee. She also hopes that everyone involved will find it a rewarding experience. Ms. Joseph thanked everyone involved especially parents, teachers, and others that have helped prepare the participants for this event and how important it is that we show our support for them. President of The Rotary Club of St. Maarten Denise Antrobus gave the audience some feedback on what the participants thought of the four tutorials held this year at the University of St. Martin. She also thanked the sponsors for their support of the Spelling Bee which without them this would not have been possible. Special thanks went out to the main sponsor Scotiabank and chairlady service projects director Grace Linger for organizing this event. President of The Rotaract Club of St. Maarten Sunrise Lerissa Rey made sure all the participants were ready, and also thanked parents, teachers, and supporters for coming out. All the speakers let the participants know that they were all already winners by being there and ready to compete.
The judges were introduced, the moderator Rhodda Arrindell, head judge President Denise Antrobus, judges Rotarian Davy Moree and Rotarian Reena Manek, logistics tech Theodore Wilson and timekeeper Rotarian Aernout Kraajeveld.
Finally, an explanation of the rules was given to the participants, who were anxiously waiting for the start. For the preliminary round, the participants had to write twenty words. The word was read out, given in a sentence and read out again, they had thirty seconds to write the word on the sheet provided.
The Top ten finishers representing six schools were Yaashoda Sanchara from Asha Stevens Hillside Christian School, Nasya gayle from MAC School – Rev. John A. Gumbs Campus, Nihal Chugani from St. Dominic Primary School, Khushi Soneji from Mac School – Browlia f. Maillard Campus, Sameer Chatani from St. Maarten Seventh Day Adventist School, Mikage Dorecelus from Ruby Labega Primary School, and from the Anguilla Schools. Tamara Hall-Sampson, Jayda Adams, Zakkai Lake, and Ayana Carty. These top ten finishers are now headed for the semi-final round being held on Sunday, October 21st. The five-top finishers from the semi-final round will head to the final round on Sunday, October 28th.
Don’t study to earn, study to learn, what you learn today is what you will become tomorrow.
The Rotary Club of St. Maarten-Mid Isle meets Tuesday at 7 pm at Pineapple Pete in Simpson Bay. For more information please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or visit our facebook page Rotary Club of St. Maarten-Mid Isle.
