2011 Invitation

PARIS SPELLING BEE

Students in CE2-4ème (3rd-8th grade)

TO:	Heads of English Departments, Teachers, Administrators, Parents,   Representatives of APE and Community Leaders
RE:	2011 Paris Spelling Bee Invitation
DATE:	10 November 2010
NOTE:	Please take note of the upcoming deadlines

Dear Sir or Madam,

We are writing to invite students from your school to participate in the 4th annual Paris Spelling Bee, which is open to children in CE2 through 4ème (3rd through 8th grade).  Participants will be divided into two groups:  Gazelles for CE2-CM2 and Cheetahs for 6ème-4ème.  Registration for the 2011 Bee (by mail) is now open and closes on Tuesday 18 January, 2011. For a copy of the registration form Click here: 2011 PSB Registration Form .  Registration is first come, first served.

The Spelling Bee consists of two stages.  First, a preliminary written competition, which will be held on Saturday 29 January. Finalists from the preliminaries will then compete in the oral finals on Sunday 20 March.  Trophies are awarded to first and second place winners in each group. Certificates and medals will be given to all finalists.

Last academic year, 29 finalists from 13 different schools in the Paris region competed in the 3rd annual Paris Spelling Bee held at the American Library in Paris. Visit our blog ParisFranceSpellingBee.wordpress.com for highlights of the 2010 Bee.

This is a community-wide enrichment event organized by Gifted in France, in collaboration with the American Library in Paris, and for the first time, the event will be hosted by the American University of Paris. The Paris Spelling Bee is modeled after those held by schools and other organizations at the local, state and national level in the United States.

Benefits of spelling bees:

“Spelling bees help to promote literacy by providing children with a positive goal to work toward, and give them a forum to display the fruits of their hard work. But they also do much more: In addition to improving spelling, the bees also aid children in learning concepts, improving comprehension and developing study skills. The benefits of spelling bees extend beyond language: Since children are required to spell words while on stage, kids also develop self-confidence, communication and public speaking skills, and the ability to thrive under pressure.” (CanSpell)

The preliminary and the final event:

The preliminary event on Saturday 29 January for all preregistered participants will be a written spelling test, while the final event on Sunday 20 March will be in oral format where children will be asked to spell out loud before an audience.  There will be a mock competition/practice session on Sunday 6 March for all the finalists. This mock session is designed to give contestants a chance to make new friends, practice oral spelling under similar conditions as the real Bee, and to review the contest rules and regulations of the 2011 Bee.

Kindly circulate this information to the heads of your English department, your English teachers and parent representatives of your school. A copy of the registration form is  here: 2011 PSB Registration Form , and can also be requested by e-mailing: ParisFranceSpellingBee@gmail.com. We encourage anyone who is interested in registering or following the events to regularly check our blog, ParisFranceSpellingBee.wordpress.com for updates on registration, contest rules of the 2011 Bee and any other relevant notices.

Please read carefully the following information if your student or child is interested in the 2011 Paris Spelling Bee:
November 2010	Registration is now open by mail for the 2011 Paris Spelling Bee. To receive your form, please email  parisfrancespellingbee@gmail.com or download it from our blog by clicking here: 2011 PSB Registration Form 
Tuesday 18 January 2011	Registration Deadline: Completed and signed registration form with payment must be postmarked on or before Tuesday 18 January. Please make checks payable to Gifted in France.
Saturday 29 January 2011	Preliminary Written Round: For those who’ve pre-registered on or before Tuesday 18 January 2011. This event will be held in Paris, location to be determined. Tentative time: 09h00-12h00. On this day, children will be grouped according to their grades (CE2-CM2 and 6ème-4ème) and then given a dictation of words. Finalists will advance to the oral finals on  Sunday 20 March.
Sunday 6 March2011	Mock competition/practice session: Finalists from the 29 January preliminaries will be invited to participate in this event to learn useful tips on oral spelling bees, learn about contest rules and have a chance to meet fellow participants. Tentative time: 10h00-13h00.
Sunday 20 March2011	2011 Paris Spelling Bee Oral Finals: This competition is for the finalists and will be held at the American University of Paris. The event  is open to contestants and their guests. Times will be provided at a later date.
Cost:	There will be a 12€ registration fee for the first child and 5€ for each additional child in the same family. If the child qualifies for the finals, the same fees will apply. These  fees help cover the cost of venues, trophies, certificates, medals, printed material, security and clean-up.
Eligibility requirements and limitations:	This event is open to English-speaking children currently in CE2-CM2 and 6ème-4ème. Participants in the younger group may request to compete with the older group; however, it will be up to the organizers to review and approve this request.
Two Community Events Saturday 15 January  15-16h00 and 18h30-21h00:	There are two activities planned for those interested in learning more about the Bee: Saturday 15 January 15h00-16h00 –Spelling Bee activity for children ages 7 and older at the American Library in Paris (ALP).
	Saturday 15 January 18h30-21h00 Spelling Bee Movie and Pizza Night at the ALP. This was a very successful event last year where families were invited for a special screening of the award-winning documentary “Spellbound.” RSVP via Paris Spelling Bee blog will be available in this space in the coming weeks.
Please visit parisfrancespellingbee.wordpress.com for announcements and upcoming activities.

Suggested material:

We have enjoyed and benefited from the following resources:

How to Spell Like a Champ, a book that includes a 75-minute interactive audio CD following a child from a classroom bee to the finals.
Spellbound: an award-winning documentary, which follows eight American spellers from their regional bees through to the conclusion of the 1999 Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C.
Akeelah and the Bee: a motion picture about a young girl from South Los Angeles who tries to make it to the National Spelling Bee.
Other useful links your students and teachers might enjoy are:  Welcome to the Spelling Bee Hive! —  The Times Spelling Bee/UK —  Canwest Canspell/Canada (teachers) —   Canwest Canspell/ Canada (students)—   Denver Public Schools Semantics/US and some word games at Merriam-Webster online — Funbrain.com’s spellcheck.— Quia’s most commonly misspelled words and Spelling Bee Hive. (These can all be found on the Paris Spelling Bee blog).

Organizers:
Gifted in France is a 1901 association for English-speaking families. We organize educational meetings for parents, teachers and other professionals on the social, educational and emotional needs of gifted and twice-exceptional children (gifted children with learning issues).  We also organize activities for children, such as science and creative writing workshops as well as the annual Paris Spelling Bee.

The Paris Spelling Bee is a volunteer-run not-for-profit event. We encourage parents and teachers who are interested in helping the Bee Committee to please contact us as soon as possible. We are also looking for donors or sponsors who wish to contribute prizes or help defray other costs of the Bee.

We are grateful to the American Library in Paris for their continued support and collaboration and to the American University of Paris for hosting the 2011 Paris Spelling Bee.

We look forward to hearing from you, your students and your children.

Best regards,

Helen Sahin Connelly
Coordinator, Paris Spelling Bee
parisfrancespellingbee@gmail.com
parisfrancespellingbee.wordpress.com