The Fourth of July is Nearing/Patriotic Music/Doing Other Things While Spelling

As the Fourth of July approaches, here are Independence Day Words:

• independence
• patriot
• leadership
• fireworks
• freedom
• loyal
• opportunities
• heritage
• history
• kindness
• democracy
• jubilation
• liberation
• republic
• united
• valiance
• sacrifice
• citizenship
• equality
• ebullience
• glory
• heroes

There are just so many Independence Day words, that I cannot post them all. Within the next few days, I will post several words that have to do with patriotism. I will also be posting videos of patriotic songs.

Ronald Reagan's Inauguration (Battle Hymn of the Republic sung by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir)

Full Version of the Battle Hymn of the Republic



For those who have seen Phantom: The Las Vegas Spectacular, you may recognize Kristen Hertzenberg who plays Christine Daae. This is her singing the National Anthem (Star Spangled Banner)

You may be wondering why I chose these artists in particular...

The Mormon Tabernacle Choir is my favorite choir, even if I am not a Latter Day Saint. My choir has performed with them many times, including the Cultural Olympiad with John Williams around the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake, the Rededication of the Utah Capitol, a performance with Natalie Cole, and so many more that I probably cannot name them.

I chose Kristen Hertzenberg, because she is my favorite U.S. Christine. I saw her in Phantom: The Las Vegas Spectacular back in 2009. She has such an amazing voice, that I cried! If you haven't seen her perform live, I suggest that you do.

Why am I talking about this? A lot of spellers love music. They sing, play the violin, flute, piano, saxophone,  and so many more instruments! When I listen to music, I can concentrate on homework, then spelling after. I decided to use this, so I could get used to distractions. I also hula hoop, play with Legos, jump rope, and do other things while spelling, although music is the easiest way for me to concentrate. My mind works better when I am doing other things while spelling.
Continue spelling, and good luck!

Words that Bring Back Memories

There were several words used at the Bee this year that brought back good and bad memories. I will also include the words that were mentioned by spellers and Dr. Bailly in their videos, and maybe words that may be used in the future.

Sardoodledom (2007) Dr. Bailly mentioned this word in his video, and I remember Kennyi Aouad cracking up.

Alopecoid (2004) This was also somewhat mentioned in Dr. Bailly's video, and Akshay Buddiga fainted. It brought back bad memories, but Akshay nailed the word! I also don't believe that I had a friend who witnessed that event.

Weltschmerz (2006) When Anja Beth Swoap received this word, I thought she had it. When I heard it, the 2006 National Spelling Bee popped into my mind. Finola Hackett misspelled this word as veltschmerz, and she placed second. Kerry Close had to spell another word, then Ursprache to take the title that year. Unfortunately, Anja misspelled the word as weldschmerz.

Hukilau (2006) This word was on the written test this year, and it was spelled by Kerry Close in 2006. It was not on any of my lists, but I am glad that I watched the Bee that year! In fact, I never heard from the word again, until the written test.

Pappardelle/Rascacio (2007) Although pappardelle was replaced with cucaracha, this word reminded me of the 2007 Champion, Evan O'Dorney. Rascacio was the first word he received during the championship finals, but was used in Round 3 this year. He did not seem to have problems with any word.

Boudin (2003) The word Samir Patel misspelled when he was only nine! The word was misspelled this year as well.
Words that may bring back memories in the future

Secernent (2008) This word was misspelled by five-peat, Matthew Evans, and many people were heartbroken.

Opificer (2008) This word was misspelled by five-peat, Tia Thomas, and she placed third. On every word before, she seemed to know them all. Well, she asked, "Can I have the California pronunciation?" when she received canicular.

Clevis (2007) Who will ever forget this dreadful moment in Round 5, when five-peat, Samir Patel, misspelled this word? It will bring back good and bad memories if this word is ever used again.

Reblochon (2007) When Sarah Harmsworth of Montana knew she misspelled the word, she said, "I'm gonna ding!" I remember the day before, she said, "Are we on TV?"

Fustanella (2010) Tim Ruiter, who tied for second in 2009, was eliminated in Round 4. People were shocked, and it was very unexpected.

Hebdomadally (2009) I do not know if anyone will remember the moment when Nicholas Rushlow said,"heb-what-a-lee?", but it sure made me laugh.

There are so many more words that bring back memories, but it will take me forever to write them! Good luck to all the spellers next year, and remember to do your best!

The 2012 Bee Arriving Quickly!/Busy Summer

As my teachers say, "Due dates are closer than they appear!". I say, 2012 National Spelling Bee will be here anytime soon! Even if the Bee is over 300 days away, it will be here before you know it! I know that there are some spellers who have not stopped studying since they first competed! Even if I never made it to nationals, I studied every day since 2005, and it was never tiring to learn new words! In fact, my skills improved every year! I have not stopped studying, and will never stop learning new words. Even champions still like to learn new words!

I still hope the Bee can be extended throughout high school! I will still miss it, but my spelling spirit is not gone, and will hopefully never go away! I want to coach spellers still, and hopefully finish the spelling bee club planning by the end of the summer. It is so much harder than I thought it would be. You really need to organize, set dates, plan activities, find a good video camera, get materials prepared, and find time!

Of course, the summer is busy. I do not have a lot of free time, because of the Spelling Bee Club, Bible Bee, and Geometry classes. After my Geometry classes, my family is going to Southern California to go to Seaworld, San Diego Zoo, and Legoland. This is going to be busy, but I hope to have time do my other activities, too! I hope you all have a great summer!

Tips for when you are on stage

• When you get an obscure word that you do not know, and you asked for all the information you could ask for, do not freak out.
• If you think the bell will ring on you, it will most likely do so.
• Concentrate on your word, and use what you know to figure it out.
• Always ask, listen, and think.
• Do not mind all the media, but make sure you act professional.
• Do your best.

Continue spelling, and good luck to every single speller competing next year!

Words in Music

At the Bee, there are several music terms. If you play an instrument, you may recognize a lot of the terms. Playing the flute, violin, piano, and singing, I have learned a lot of new words.

In Suzuki Flute School Volume 5, the 2005 National Spelling Bee winning word is in that book. Appoggiatura is the word, but it was unfortunately misspelled as appogiatura (it's spelled correctly in Volume 6). I have also learned siciliano, forzato, scherzo, gavotte, concerto, ecossaise, passacaglia, and a lot more terms.

Words are all around us, not just music. Maybe your next spelling bee word will be the name of a street you went through, or a song that you learned in music lessons. It might be one of the words from your language class. Who knows what it will be? Be prepared no matter what!

Do you have any interesting words to share from books, music, or anywhere else? Comment below!

Good luck and continue spelling!

Who is Studying For the 2012 National Spelling Bee?

Since the 2011 National Spelling Bee is over, is there anyone who has started studying for next year? Even if I am not competing, I am continuing my streak of not missing a day of studying, which began in 2005. I say that even if you are coaching someone else, you are still studying. I probably am going to keep that streak, until the end of eleventh grade, or maybe even twelfth grade.

Have any of you spellers never miss a day of studying since you started competing? I know there are several who have, and even started studying before they started competing!

If you are too old to compete now, and you competed before, think about all the memories you had about the Bee. I hope that the Bee will be extended throughout high school. So many spellers miss it so much, but I hope my sister makes it next year! For all the spellers who aspire to make it to nationals, and/or really want to go back, I hope you all make it!

Next year, we hope to see two five-peats: Nicholas Rushlow and Rahul Malayappan. They were both four-peats this year. I was upset that Rahul and another four-peat, Julianna Canabal-Rodriguez, did not advance to semifinals this year. Last year, Rahul tied for 33rd, while Julianna tied for ninth.

Besides Nicholas and Rahul, there are a lot of other spellers going for the championship next year, such as Arvind Mahankali, Sriram Hathwar, Dhivya Murugan, Veronica Penny, Nabeel Rahman, and Samuel Estep. If Arvind returns next year, he will be the highest returning finisher as a seventh grader! That hasn't happened since 2005-2006 (Samir Patel).

Did you know that Kerry Close (2006) is the only five-peat to win nationals? Samir Patel would have been second, he was eliminated in Round 5 in 2007. In 2008, Matthew Evans and Tia Thomas were the five-peats. Tia placed third, and Matthew tied for 17th. If Nicholas Rushlow or Rahul Malayappan win next year, one of those will be the second five-peat to win.

Good luck, and continue studying!

Happy Father's Day! (Spellers whose Dads are Their Coaches, say Thank You to Them!)

Since today is Father's Day, here are some words for today!

pa
papa
pappy
begetter
forebearer
love

Those words may seem very simple, but they mean a lot!

My dad is my spelling bee coach, and I thank him for helping me!

Knowing Languages Pays Off

Many spellers at the National Spelling Bee speak other languages besides English. They speak French, German, Tagalog, Spanish, Romanian, Russian, Italian, and a lot other languages. I know French, German, Spanish, although I am only conversational in all of them. I only know how to say eat and light in Tagalog. Perhaps in a few years, I will be fluent in at least one of them.

I will admit that I used to highly dislike French. The rules were annoying to me. The long "A" sound can be spelled with é, ée, et, ez, er, and probably many other ways. At least that one did not annoy me as much as the long "O" sound. Those words can be spelled with ot, eau, eaux, maybe just o, and a lot of different ways as well. When it comes to the long "O" words, and the word is a singular noun, ot and eau are in my mind. Take the word rougeot for example. The word is a singular noun, but it can be misspelled as rougeau.
At least French is not really confusing to me anymore.

I have mentioned this several times, but a speller named Anna-Marie Sprenger knows so many languages. She only studied the Spell It! booklet one night before the Bee. Since she knows languages so well, she used roots she knew from each origin. This was her first year in the Bee, too, and I was very impressed. She is fluent in French and Romanian, and if she was given a Romanian word, she most likely would have spelled it correctly. Romanian is a rare language used in the Bee.

If there are language classes at your school, take at least one of them. It may pay off!