By Ashleigh Fielding | posted on September 5, 2019
Spencer Park Primary students hope to defend their fourth consecutive crown at next week’s interschool spelling championships as the best spellers in the primary school business.
Students won the Year 5/6 trophy in 2018, 2017, 2016, 2013 and 2010 against fellow Albany schools Flinders Park Primary and Yakamia Primary, and Denmark Primary School.
Year 6 student Aliciah Mae Bersales has competed in the spelling bee every year since Year 3 and can’t wait for September 12 to put her spelling words to the test.
“It’s fun to learn all of these words and be part of a team,” she said.
Newcomer to the squad, Year 4 student Elliott Ruggera, thinks it would be “awesome” if the Spencer Park team won again and took out both the Year 3/4 and Year 5/6 trophies.
“I like learning the hard words,” he said.
Some of these words include archipelago, obstreperous, onomatopoeia and lepidopterist.
Principal Jeremy Hadlow was proud of the team spirit he had seen develop between his students over the past few weeks.
He supported the spelling championships as another method of rewarding students’ efforts.
“We give a lot of kudos to the footy champs but don’t always notice if someone’s a spelling champ,” Mr Hadlow said.
“It’s really important to know how to spell and we should celebrate it, put it in the spotlight.”
The spelling championship will see Spencer Park face off against Flinders Park, Mount Lockyer, Mt Barker and Kendenup Primary Schools at their home turf on September 12.
