Rotaract Club launches 15th annual Spelling B Competition

Primary school students will soon have a chance to show off their spelling skills at the 2013 Spelling B Competition.{{more}}

The Rotaract Club of Kingstown launched its 15th annual Spelling B Competition yesterday, at a ceremony held at the COURTS St Vincent Limited conference room.

President of the Rotaract Club of Kingstown Lucine Edwards noted that the Spelling B competition is just one of the many ways in which the club is involved in the community.

Edwards also observed that since the initiation of the Spelling B competition, boys and girls across the country have been able to develop increased levels of self-esteem through their successes.

“This project targets Grade 4 and 5 students from all across St Vincent and the Grenadines,” she said.

“The main goal of this project is to improve literary skills, promote enthusiasm towards reading and spelling and develop confidence among primary school students”.

The Ministry of Education also plays an integral part in the event.

Marla Nanton, education officer, noted that the Ministry is pleased to be a part of the educational event.

The education officer also stated that the Ministry understands the importance of literacy enrichment activities and it is for that reason that they continue to facilitate events that support the cause.

“We at the Ministry continue to emphasize language and literacy education,” she said.

“Our curriculum speaks to this and teachers are constantly encouraged to provide every opportunity that would improve students’ abilities and capabilities in reading, writing, speaking, (and) spelling.

“The Rotaract Spelling B competition is in keeping with what we are promoting in the Ministry of Education, specifically through our literacy, language and communication department”.

Furthermore, Nanton congratulated the club on initiating the competition for its 15th year and commended the corporate entities for recognizing the importance of their investment.

In her remarks, Edwards also expressed thanks to all the sponsors who have come on board to make the event a reality.

Included in the list of sponsors are Scotia Bank, Digicel, COURTS St Vincent Limited and Central Water and Sewerage Authority (CWSA).

Noelene Dickson, who represented the main sponsor, Scotia Bank, also expressed pleasure in being able to partner with the other sponsors to support the Spelling B competition.

“We have partnered with the Rotaract Club over the years and want to thank them for representing Scotia Bank well. They are a group of young people that have truly demonstrated their commitment to youth development and as such, we have chosen to be the major sponsor this year,” Dickson said.

This year, Digicel is also sponsoring the Spelling B competition for the first time.

“This project is one that we welcome on board. It’s our first year…and we are very happy to be here because we know that once we focus on the youths, St Vincent has a lot of places to go,” said Digicel marketing executive, Justin John. Remarks were also made by Alexis John, marketing officer for COURTS St Vincent Limited and Samantha George, representative from CWSA.

Preliminary rounds for the competition will be held in eight different zones from October 8 to October 11.

The finalists from each zone will represent their school in the Finals, slated to be held at Frenches House on October 19.(BK)