The “Friends of Copey” has been following the progress of those Learning Center students participating in the annual Spelling Bee Contest. This week the regional contest was held in Los Santos, Costa Rica.
“Dayana, who has been studying at Copey Learning Center for four years, finished in 6th place. She competed with 9 students in her group of Primary Grade students. Dayana was the youngest student in the contest, a 4th grader competing against 5th and 6th graders. Many competitors came from larger towns with access to better English classes in their elementary schools, and a few students even had bilingual parents. This is a significant milestone for Dayana and for the Copey Learning Center. She and her peers prepared for the spelling for months during their Learning Center classes.
Maria Celeste, our 7th grader competed with other 7th-9th graders. Eric, a Copey Learning Center first-grader is also congratulated. Eric’s teachers invited him to the Spelling Bee to give a demonstration of his above-level spelling skills in order to help make the point that spelling isn’t just for 4th graders and up. Eric correctly spelled ten out of ten words, including some hard ones like “mother,” “father,” and “windy”! He received a big round of applause. Hopefully we’ll have the chance to see some younger spellers in the competition next year. Eric has attended the Learning Center for two Years. by Eve Solomon
The “Friends of Copey” extend our best wishes to all of the students who participated in all the Spelling Bee contests. Dayana, you are a rock star and congratulations on a job well done. We will be pulling for all the Learning Center students when they return to the Spelling Bee competition next year.