Etymology in School for the Last Few Days/Science Fair

With this week being the last week of Quarter 2 and the First Semester I was very busy studying for final exams, but on several exams there were some interesting terms.

For the Biology test we had there were some questions I did not know the answer to, but a lot of the questions provided words that I could figure out based on what I knew from Greek and Latin roots.

Here were some of the words on it and their meanings:

binary - something made of or based on two things or parts (bi means two)

metaphase - a stage of mitosis in which two chromosomes, which carry genetic information align in the middle of the cell (meta means middle)

On my French exam there were a lot of terms I recognized:

feuille
devant
avant
devoir
chantant
cahier
and much more!
It's interesting how in English cahier means "a report or memorial concerning policy", but it French it actually means "notebook".


My English final was a week ago, and there were so many words, but it was easy to figure them out with my knowledge roots! The word tchotchke was one of the "Word of the Day" words for the Honors English Class, and I remembered that it was on the Spell It! I knew the meaning of it right away (a trinket, jewelry, a knickknack, etc.)

It's great to see these words still, even though I am no longer eligible for the Scripps National Spelling Bee.

Good luck spellers!


I will also be having Science Fair updates, because it is one of the competitions I turned to after the Spelling Bee!

• I advanced to the District Level for the International Science and Engineering Fair.
• Only eighteen (sixteen projects) of 185 9th graders advanced to the District Level (10th-12th grades did not do the Science Fair)
• After the District Level, it will be the Regional Level, and finally the International Level.
• Many students had very interesting words in their projects.
• Two students from who never did the Science Fair before advanced to the next level, while some students have had five years of experience and never advanced.
• We'll have to go through a lot of paper work.

Spelling Bee Club Photos

I realized that I have not taken any photos from the spelling bee club that I started several months ago, nor have I hardly mentioned them in recent posts. Here are the photos I took:

The Three Spellers I am Coaching (The two whose faces are facing the camera will be competing at their school bee on January 24; the one holding the binder will begin competing in one year - she's in third grade)               

They are Studying (My sister and her friend are checking the time on the phone)

Both of them seem to be in deep thought (My sister is still checking the time)

This is the third grader who is pronouncing the words.

She just told my sister to spell chromosome.

My sister is thinking of how to spell her word.

She is adding a word she spelled to a list on her phone.

Both spellers are reading - a great way to learn new words!

I will try to take more photos soon! I am so excited for the two spellers (my sister and her friend), and I hope they will be co-champions at their school level!

Good luck to you all!

Spelling Bee Update for My Sister

Today was my sister's class spelling bee and she won! I was unable to watch, because I was in school during that time. I was thinking about how well she would do in the school bee, and she advanced to the next level!

My sister studied the Classroom List, but it was not limited to that.She also studied some of the Hexco products: New Nat's Notes, the Annual List, and After a Spell. She brought How to Spell Like a Champ to school with her, and I do not know if she read some tips before the Classroom Bee.

Here is the story:

I arrived at school checking through the lists we studied, and I wondered if there would be any she would misspell that day. There were a few I marked, especially on the Hexco products, but I was confident that she would do well.

During P.E. we had to run a mile-and-a-half, and we were allowed to listen to music on our Ipods, MP3 players, etc. I decided to listen to the CD that came with How to Spell Like a Champ, and I remembered the night before my sister only missed one word: bombycine (of or relating to silk worms). I hoped that she would not receive that word if it was on the off-list words for the Classroom Bee.

When I got to piano lessons she could not be disturbed, so I waited, and she soon told me that she won! I was excited, and she was, too!

Good luck spellers!

Spelling Bee to Science Fair

After my competition years were over for the Spelling Bee I moved on to the Science Fair. Surprisingly I have never done the Science Fair before. My first and second school did not offer it, but at the third school only the seventh, ninth, and tenth graders had to do it. It was not an option or requirement for the eighth grade, unfortunately. Now that I am finally a ninth grader I am so glad that I was able to do it.

Two days ago was the judging, and I was judged five times (the minimum was three). I did not know how well I would do that day, but I was surprised that I did not get nervous while the judges asked me questions. One of the judges is a scientist and was impressed with my project.

I do not really know the levels and judging systems well, unlike the Spelling Bee, but I hope to go pretty far this year and probably make it to the international level.

Next year in tenth grade it is an option for extra credit, so I am still planning to do it next year.

Class and School Spelling Bees/Science Fair

After a lot of studying my sister has her class spelling bee tomorrow. The top ten students from the fifth grade will advance to the school spelling bee. She is very excited, and she is hardly nervous. Last year at her homeschool spelling bee she placed fourth, but since she is at a new school now she may possibly have a strong chance of winning!

Her goal this year is to advance to the Championship Finals of the Scripps National Spelling Bee, and I think that is a great ambition! Her friend has already advanced to the school level, but they both want to be co-champions and make it all the way to the National Spelling Bee together!

Another of my friends that I coached won his school spelling bee (I am so glad I coached him!), and he is already advancing to the final level before nationals! Besides spelling he also has to juggle a school play, piano, school, and basketball! Perhaps the 2011 Salt Lake Valley Champion returns, because she is very exciting to watch, and she did great at the Bee last year.

Good luck to everyone competing! The time is here!

145 Days Until the National Spelling Bee!!!!!!!!!!!/Root Word Study

Guess what? There are only 145 days until the 2012 Scripps National Spelling Bee (May 27-June 2, 2012) at the Gaylord National Hotel! Many classroom, school, and local level bees have already been conducted, and every speller who wins their final local bee (has to win on or after February 1) will be able to compete at the Scripps National Spelling Bee.

My sister has not had her classroom bee yet, but my friend, who also goes to her school, has. She has been studying, and she is very excited to compete this year! I have been coaching both of them and several other young aspiring spellers, and all of them are outstanding at spelling.

In my Honors English Class we just finished reading The Merry Wives of Windsor by William Shakespeare. There were many words from the play that I recognized, but there were also some I did not know. 

pribbles

prabbles

sirrah

fico

avaunt

usquebaugh

lascivious

vouchsafe (1973 National Spelling Bee Winning Word)

frampold

larum

polecats

declensions

varlet

daubery

wantonness

Just yesterday in English, we started learning Greek and Latin roots. When we played a game we could figure out the meanings of the words by breaking them down into roots. In my Honors Biology class we were studying roots of words so we can figure out the meanings of the obscure science terms. Since we were studying sugars and enzymes, we learned that if a word has glyc- or gluc- it has to do with sugar (such as glycolysis, glucose) , and if a word ends with -ase (such as lactase) it usually has to do with enzymes (thanks to root word study for the spelling bee that I know these). Diligent root word study will help you immensely 

On the weekends (if I have time) I will be posting more tips for the Bees. 

Good luck and continue spelling!