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St. Mark's hosts 2019 State Spelling Bee this weekend

Scripps National Spelling Bee
The annual State Spelling is this weekend.

Delaware’s top spellers will gather Saturday for the State Spelling Bee.

 

Saint Mark’s High School in Wilmington hosts the State Bee for the

11th year.

And it’s the 28th year that Dave Skocik of Dover serves as the word pronouncer for the event.

“We’ve got a bunch of schools participating as we normally do, in grades 4 to 8. And we’re looking forward to it. There will be 500 words; I’ll be reading from a list that comes from the  Merriam Webster Unabridged Dictionary and through the Scripps National Spelling Bee in D.C,” said Skocik.

 

Skocik notes he takes his job very seriously.

 

“Because you’re dealing with some very,very sharp students - again in grades 4 to 8 - and the last thing you want to do is mispronounce a word and deprive a child the opportunity to continue on in the competition,” said Skocik

 
Skocik says 78 public, private and home-schools registered for the competition. That’s two more than last year.

This year’s Bee starts at 9 a.m.. The event is open to the general public, but to avoid the potential for distractions, very young children will not be permitted in the Anna Graham Theater during the competition.

Skocik says the State’s champion speller will go on to compete in the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C. in May. That runs May 27, 2019 thru May 30, 2019.

You can read more about the national event here.

Kelli Steele has over 30 years of experience covering news in Delaware, Baltimore, Winchester, Virginia, Phoenix, Arizona and San Diego, California.