Christianne Abella, an eighth-grader from Konawaena Middle School, represented Hawaii in the 2014 Scripps National Spelling Bee this week in Maryland.
Christianne Abella, an eighth-grader from Konawaena Middle School, represented Hawaii in the 2014 Scripps National Spelling Bee this week in Maryland.
On Wednesday, following a preliminaries test on Tuesday, Abella in Round Two spelled correctly “sassafras.” In the vocabulary segment, she correctly defined “kabuki,” a traditional Japanese popular drama traditional Japanese popular drama.
In Round Three, Abella correctly spelled “teleology.” In the vocabulary segment, the judges asked what it means when something is described as “macular” to which Abella incorrectly responded that it meant relating to the jaw. The term “macular” is used to describe something that is spotted.
Despite the strong showing, Abella failed to acrue the necessary points to advance to the semifinals. She was thus not among the 46 youth advancing to the semifinals round.
The national spelling bee continues to be televised live on ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN3. Events kicked off Tuesday.
Abella in March claimed the aio Hawaii State Spelling Bee crown after 19 rounds of grueling competition earning her a spot at the national bee.
Abella is among 281 spellers from the U.S., its territories, Department of Defense schools, the Bahamas, Canada, China, Ghana, Jamaica, Japan and South Korea, competing for the title of 2014 Scripps National Spelling Bee Champion. Abella will compete as the 52nd speller on the roster.
“The Scripps National Spelling Bee is one of America’s most enduring celebrations of academic excellence. It’s a great American tradition,” said Paige Kimble, executive director of the Scripps National Spelling Bee, in a prepared statement. “This event spotlights our mission to inspire children to improve their spelling, increase their vocabularies and develop correct English usage that will help them all their lives.”
The National Spelling Bee started in 1925 with nine contestants. The E.W. Scripps Company took ownership in 1941 and, after not holding the competition for three years during World War II, has managed the Bee continuously since 1946.
This year marks the 70th year that Scripps has operated the National Spelling Bee. In that span, the terms “Scripps” and “spelling bee” have become synonymous with one another.
The bee seeks to help students improve their spelling, increase their vocabularies, learn concepts, and develop correct English usage that will help them all their lives, according to Scripps. In 2014, more than 11 million students participated in the spelling bee at one level or another.
For more information on the 2014 Scripps National Spelling Bee, click here.