Welcome to GAMS Spelling Bee Event
Every
year, GAMS students participate in the Scripps National Spelling Bee.
In the
fall, students in grades 5-8 take a written spelling test to determine the best
spellers in each Language Arts class. Next, the best spellers in each grade
participate in an oral spelling bee for each grade, five through eight.
From
there, approximately 30 of the best spellers advance to the GAMS Spelling Bee, an oral bee, which is traditionally
held on the Monday morning before Winter Break in the GAHS auditorium. Family
members of the participants are invited to watch this round of the spelling
bee. The top four spellers from the GAMS Spelling Bee advance to the Central
Pennsylvania Spelling Bee, hosted by WITF (PBS-affiliate) in their studio in
Harrisburg, PA, to compete against the top spellers from an 11-county region of
our mid state.
The first round of the Central PA Spelling Bee is a written
test, which includes spelling and definitions. This round is usually held on a
Sunday afternoon in late January.
The top 36 spellers from this round advance
to the Central PA Spelling Bee Championship round, which usually takes place on
a Saturday afternoon in late February. This round is televised on WITF.
The winner of the Central PA Spelling Bee
advances to the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington DC in May to
compete for thousands of dollars in scholarship awards.