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NEW DETAILS OF THE 2008 SCRIPPS SPELLING BEE

(Click here for 2008 Canwest Canspell Spelling Bee)

Scripps National Spelling Bee 2008

Welcome to our Scripps report, See our exclusive interviews below!
Dr. Jacques Bailly: Word Pronouncer; 1980 Champion
Sameer Mishra: 2008 National Champion
Sidhar Harth:  Runner Up
Tia Thomas:  Third place
Matthew Evans:  Five Time Participant
Cody Wang: Four Time Canadian contender

Team Canada

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Thank you the the Canwest staff for a great time!

Rick Fenton	Richard Landry	Diane McCarthy

Collene Ferguson	Lynne Munro	April Andreosso

May 25, 2008
I woke up.  We got a limo ride to the Toronto airport. We had an okay ride.   Better than the shuttle for the same price.  We arrived at the hotel, registered and bought souvenirs.  We swam, and then we hot-tubbed.

May 26, 2008
We woke up at 7:00, and went for breakfast. I had a fried egg, quiche, & bacon, etc.    We toured the city and went to a lot of memorials, like the Lincoln Memorial(Where I found a penny), the World War 2 memorial, & the Korean War memorial..  Lunch was a banana, an apple, and a Nutri-Grain.  It was Memorial Day,but I didn't get to see the parade.

When we returned, Me and Mom studied and then I did the round one test.I thought I got 4-8 wrong.In other words,I was pretty sure I would make it to the Quarterfinals.
Dinner was cheese sticks, 1/2 a pogo, hamburger,and other finger foods.  I got people to sign my Beekeeper,a book for the spellers to sign and answer one fun fact. We went back to the hotel and swam and hot-tubbed. I showered and changed then I went on Skype chat.

Touring Washington

May 27, 2008
We woke up at 10:00 and went to Turkey Run Park for a BBQ, and I made a mask, a visor and a necklace.  It was a delicious BBQ. 

While I was there a turkey chased me at the Colonial farm,which had a cabin-thing and two boys farming tobacco.  At the BBQ I had 1/2 a veggie burger, potato salad and chicken. (Mom took the chicken, then threw it at me.)  The bus was our most frequent transportation this day.

We went to the Canadian Embassy.  We had pictures taken.  The ambassador asked someone to spell a word and I put my hand up.  The word was conchology.  I started spelling the word and he interrupted me and asked someone else to give it a try, so I said, "I'm spelling the word!"  I spelled it correctly and when I put my hand up for the next word he said he wasn't going to call on me again.  We got a gift bag from the Embassy.   I had two cookies there.

We went to Filomena's for dinner.  I had 1/2 of chicken kiev and stuffed mushroom.  It was huge even though it was only a half!  Mom had the other half. We went back to the hotel and freshened up.

May 28, 2008
We went on a tour of Annapolis, and the U.S. Naval academy.  In the afternoon there was a Scripps general assembly, and then the Canadians went to Tony Cheng's for dinner.

May 29, 2008 -Quarter Finals
We woke up at 6:30 am.,  since they started the Round 2 at 7:45a.m. dressed in cords, and Kids Run the Ticats day t-shirt. Then I went downstairs and did my word (gosling), which I got correct.  Then we studied and then they announced the quarter finalists.  I was one of them.  I got 21 out of 25 on my written test.

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From 11 a.m. - 2 p.m.,  I spelled my words right in rounds 3 & 4.  I got sericeous and paleethnology.  That made me in the top 45 and I move on!  I am the youngest competitor!  Dinner was pie, chicken, and clam chowder.  I went back and showered, then talked to the kids on Skype.  I got a Polly and Lila girl from Mom.  Then I did my journal and studied.

May 30, 2008 -Semi Finals
I woke up at 8:18.  Mom slept until 9:00.  I studied until 9:00.  Then we went to the bee.  I got out on my word etagere.  I stayed to watch the rest of the bee, and spelled on my paper along with the spellers on stage.  I got Tom Bergeron's autograph.

Then we went to our hotel and ordered a turkey sandwich (for me) and a light club sandwich (for Mom).  I ate my sandwich and some day-old soup.  Then (during eating) we Skyped the kids.  Then we walked over to the Air & Space Museum.  I was parched and sweating when we got back, so I drank a whole bottle of water and had a COLD shower.  Then we Skyped the kids again and then went down to dinner.  I had a burger, fettuccine Alfredo, 2 cheese sticks, quesadillas and a make-your-own sundae. 

I also found out I was featured in a lot of American and Canadian papers.  I have this style of covering my eyes when I am thinking, and it seemed to be that it made for interesting pictures and articles.  I was even on the front cover of the Washington Times, in colour!

Finals
We went over to the Grand Hyatt and started watching the bee Finals LIVE. Sameer Mishra won.  I interviewed Dr. Jacques Bailly, Word Pronouncer; 1980 Champion; Sameer Mishra, 2008 National Champion; Sidhar Harth, Runner Up; Tia Thomas, Third place;  Matthew Evans, Five Time Participant; and Cody Wang, Four Time Canadian contender.  We went upstairs, showered, swam, then ate a bowl of fruit and went to bed.

May 31, 2008
We woke up at 10:50 a.m. and went downstairs and tried to eat our omelette sandwiches.   Then we walked over to the Spy Museum.  It was fun.  I had lobster for lunch.  Then we bought a ton of souvenirs.  Then we went to the Awards Banquet.   I ate salad, chicken, and a bombe of chocolate mousse and a really thin almond cookie on top.

June 1, 2008
We woke up and went to Cosi's and bought orange juice and a fruit cup, and a coffee for mom. Then we went to the Washington airport and I had a Filet-O-Fish and a small fries.   We flew away to the Montreal airport, then home!!!!  Wendy drove us home, then we had pizza and partied until 12:00 and gave out souvenirs.

An interview with: Dr. Jacques Bailly, Word Pronouncer, and 1980 Scripps National Champion.

Veronica: How can a speller determine a "ph" from a "th" sound? Dr. Bailly: You have to know the word.  You're all in the same boat, so you just have to know the word. V: Do you plan to enter your children in the spelling bee? Dr. B: No, I'm not planning on it. V: Do you know how much you were Googled yesterday? Dr. B: What? Oh, no, how many? V: 40 hits on my website alone. (all spelled his name wrong) Dr. B: You have your own website? Oh, that's good. V: Do you tend to have favourites each year? Dr. B: No, I do like some, but I can't be sure who will win, no. V: Any special advice for a little kid? Dr. B: You have to know words, know origins and meanings, and the definition is more important than the word.

An interview with: Sameer Mishra, Champion 2008 Scripps National Spelling Bee

Veronica: What did you use to study? Sameer: My stuff and Webster's 3rd V: Is your sister here? S: Yes, she's behind you. V: Is she jealous? S: No, my winning is too much effort. V: Is the studying worth it? S: Most definitely. V: What will you do with your money? S: Not sure yet. V: When did you start thinking you would win? S: I had no clue I was getting close, even when I was in the top three spellers. V: What's your plan for a future career? S: Neurosurgeon.

An interview with: Sidharth Chand, 2nd Place Winner

V: Why aren't you getting signatures? S: I lost my book and there are no bee keepers left. V: Are you coming back next year. S: I don't know, I'm not sure. V: You mean because of the long and winding road? S: Yes. Veronica: How do you prepare for spelling bees? S: Read everything. V: How are you going to spend your money? S: I don't know. V: Do you think you would have won if you were homeschooled? S: They go farther, but no.  V: Do you think homeschoolers have an unfair advantage? S: No, Regulations keep it fair. V: What are your future career plans? S: I don't know, there are so many options.

An interview with: Tia Thomas 3rd Place Winner

Veronica: How much have you made in your 5 years? Tia: $3,425. V: Do you think you would have done better if you had been in public school? T: No. V: Is all the studying worth it? T: Yes, it's worth it. V: What are you going to do with your money? T: Save it for college. V: How far did you think you would go? T:  I didn't expect 3rd, I wanted 1st. V: Are you disappointed that you never won or do you feel a sense of accomplishment ? T: Disappointed.  I do feel accomplishment. V: Do you root for other homeschoolers? T: Yes. V: Will you stay in touch with Matthew Evans? T: Yes, we will talk about the Vocabulary Challenge. T: Why do you cover your eyes? V: It helps me think better. T: Why are you interviewing me? V: For my website.

An interview with: Matthew Evans; Five Time Scripps Participant

Veronica: You did very well, do you feel like a winner? Matthew: Yes, but I'm disappointed. V: Did you feel like this was your year? M: There were a lot of good spellers, with equal chances, and luck. V: What advice would you give to someone trying to come back next year like me? M: Work really hard, it's the only way to win. V: What is in your career future? M: Pastor. V: How much money have you won altogether? M: $3,400. V: Do you favour homeschoolers? M: No V: Do you think homeschoolers do better? M: Yes, they can also get other school work done faster. V: What did you do with your money? M: I saved it for college.

An interview with: Cody Wang; 4 time participant from Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and runner up in Canspell 2008
Veronica: How do you prepare for spelling bees? Cody: Same as a lot of people.  Nat's Notes. V: What do you think about homeschoolers? Do you think it's unfair about homeschoolers? Are you homeschooled? C: Well, Veronica did better than me so... it's not unfair, it doesn't matter to me; no, I go to public school. V: Is the studying worth it? C: Definitely, studying is needed. V: How are going to spend your money? How much money do you have? C: Probably a laptop. No idea, maybe $1,500. V: How far did you think you would go? C: Past the finals. V: What do you want to be when you grow up? C: Surgeon.

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NEWS

There are many links to featured articles and photos on my style in the 2008 Scripps National Bee.  You can just Google my name, and Yahoo Photos, but I have included a few links here:

BBC Video: World's Top Spellers

CBC:  Canadian Broadcasting

Scripps:  Scripps Howard News

Yahoo: Yahoo News Article

YouTube:  Here is a link to me spelling a word in the quarter finals.

Carolyn Andrews

Katie Daubs - Reporter

Canadian Ambassador

Paige Kimble

Dr. Brian Sietsama

George Thampy 2000 National Champion

Anthony Pitch

Speller from Hamilton, New Zealand

These are the various media interviews:

Washington