This season’s Spelling Bee competition has seen 18 sibling-Spellers earning spots at the national finals and therefore will compete among the finalists for the supremacy come Saturday, February 5, 2022.
The siblings, throughout the preliminary rounds, are seen cheering each other on, thus confirming what some usually say that “having siblings is like having built-in best friends.”
The nine pairs include 8-year-old Jaydyn Apagwen Achaw and 11-year-old Awenanya Janelle Agnes Achaw of the DPS International Ghana in Tema who wishes to win the 2022 Spelling Bee, get super grades in school and become successful in the future; 7-year-old Aryanna Agyeimaa Abban who said if she was president for a day, she would offer everything children need for free because children almost never get what they ask for and 14-year-old Jason Allan Abban whose father is his role model, both from Jaylis School in the Brong Ahafo region.
Also 11-year-old Baffour Kyei-Mensah, and 10-year-old Otumfour Yaw Kyei-Mensah of Angels Specialist School International in Tema who would offer children free education because they have realised most children are suffering from paying school fees; 12-year-old Gabriel Ayensu-Nyarko whose role model is Lionel Messi and 10-year-old Melissa Ayensu-Nyarko who said her mother is her role model both from DPS International Ghana in Tema.
Also, 10-year-old Nana Kwadwo Banin who wishes to one day win the Scripps International Spelling Bee, and 13-year-old Paapa Kyerematen Ansong Banin who would freely give everyone books so they could read because reading is fun. They attend the University of Ghana Basic School in Accra.
For 12-year-old Roseline Obeng- Davis and 10-year-old Ruth Obeng-Davis of the Oyster Academy in Tema they wish for a world without war and corruption. 10-year-old Vroon Tetteh would like to meet Bill Nye and 13-year-old Edmond Tetteh wishes to meet Naa Kashie previous winner of The Spelling Bee contest and both siblings are from the Tema Ridge School.
Also, 11-year-old Leroy Asamoah who believes family is the greatest and the most precious gift in life and 13-year-old Lord Asamoah who wishes parents live long, both of the AGA School in the Ashanti Region, Obuasi; and lastly 11-year-old Nana Yaw Obiri would want to end school at 1:00pm if he was a president and 10-year-old Nanaabena Obiri who wishes to visit Paris to learn how to speak French, both from the Startrite Montessori School in Kasoa.
According to the Country Director of the Young Educators Foundation, organizers of The Spelling Bee, Eugenia Tachie-Menson, “there have been siblings in the competition over the years, either in the same year or in different years, for instance, Paapa Kyerematen-Ansong Banin, Roseline Obeng Davis, Ruth Obeng- Davis, Nana Yaw Addo Obiri, Nanaabena Obiri were part of the 2021 edition.”
This year, a total of 114 spellers comprising 59 females and 55 males have qualified for the national final and will battle for victory, the ultimate prize, and the bragging rights as the best speller in Ghana.
Endorsed by the Ghana Education Service (GES), the first edition of TSB started in 2007 with only six schools, where Maria Isabel Kubabom of SOS Hermann Gmeiner School, Tema won and went on to the USA to represent Ghana. Maria’s appearance at the 80th Scripps Spelling Bee made history as the first time an African was ever represented in this international contest. Ghana has since been the only African country participating.
Parents can enrol their wards at the age of 7-13 onto the Programme by visiting The Spelling Bee website with the link; https://thespellingbeegh.org/.
Bee Prepared
Bee Prepared is a new feature of The Spelling Bee, which is open to anyone who wants to have a feel of the Bee, from anywhere in the world. It is open to all interested persons however if one wishes to leverage the training to prepare themselves to participate in The Spelling Bee, then they must be between the ages of 7 and 13 or between grades 3 and 7.
According to Eugenia Tachie-Menson, Bee Prepared is a 12-week online-based course that will focus on topics under The Spelling Bee literacy training programme.
