Origin Of The Word, Please: Students Take First Steps Towards National Bee

GREENBURGH, N.Y. -- Wordsmiths, polyglots and linguists will take to the stage later this month to show their mastery of the English language as of Greenburgh Central’s elementary schools will once again hold the district’s fourth annual Spelling Bee on Friday, March 11. 

Kindergarten and first-grade students, called the Honey Bees, will compete at the Lee F. Jackson School during the school day. Second- and third-grade students at the RJ Bailey School, called the Worker Bees, will compete at 4 p.m. at the school. And at 7 p.m., students in fourth through eighth grades, the Bumble Bees team, will compete at the RJ Bailey School to qualify for the Scripps National Spelling Bee. All events are open to the public.

The winner of the Bumble Bees competition will be sent to the national contest. Judges will include local politicians, school board members and community members. The spelling bee is sponsored by the Theodore D. Young Community Center.

Greenburgh Central is the only district in Westchester County that participates in the Scripps Spelling Bee competition, which is broadcast live on ESPN each year. In 2014, Harshita Shet, a fourth grader at the time, advanced to the fourth round of the national spelling bee and finished 47th in the country.

To learn more about the Scripps National Spelling Bee, click here.