Spelling Bee Success and Essay Competition

This Spring, the students in 3^rd-6^th grade at LBS were invited to participate in either a French or Creole Spelling Bee and an essay competition.

These brand-new events, supported by a group of American young adult volunteers who visited Haiti in 2018, were a real encouragement to the students’ desire to learn and write and it was a joy to see their excitement build and interest grow as the months of preparation led the students to the final competition on Haitian Flag Day in May.

The Spelling Bees started with a preliminary round in April where 31 competed in French and 27 competed in Creole to earn one of the final 5 spots for each competition. Students spent weeks practicing and having teachers and staff quiz them on the list of guide words to study.

The essay competition started with some practice prompts throughout the month of April where 45 students participated and some even shared their essays on the bulletin board in the courtyard for their schoolmates to read.

The finals for all three competitions kicked off with a musical performance by the 1^st graders on flutes. Then selected essayists presented their writing and the winner was selected by the level of applause from the audience. Ralph G., a 5^th grade student, was the winner for both the essay contest and the French spelling bee. Dolisca B. from 6^th grade won the contest in Creole. All winners were awarded with a dictionary and certificate and held a special place in the school’s Flag Day parade through Saint Marc later that day