Fredericton student off to Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington
For the second year in a row, an elementary school student in Fredericton will be heading to the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington.
Vanya Virmani, a Grade 3 student at Park Street Elementary, will head to the event after winning a spelling bee on Saturday at the UNB Saint John campus, also for the second time.
The event was open to competitors from New Brunswick and P.E.I.
Virmani said she studied "a lot" for this year's competition and is hoping for a better outcome at the national championship.
"I'm really excited, but kind of nervous too," she said.
Virmani made it to the third round last year at the Scripps National Spelling Bee, but incorrectly spelled the word opprobrious as approbrious.
The runner-up on Saturday was Dominique Drost.
The spelling bee was organized by Big Brothers Big Sisters Canada. Previously, it was put on by Canwest, a now-defunct media company.
Laurie Collins, the executive director of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Saint John, said organizing the spelling bee is a good fit for the organization because its efforts are on mentoring and helping kids succeed in school.
"This is an opportunity for kids to build confidence and to improve spelling and school performance," she said.
Collins said she would like to see the event grow next year and would like to see more schools host spelling bees, as well as see more students from out of the province at the spelling bee.
"I think they really give kids an opportunity to first off learn a little more about competition, friendly competition, and to give kids a chance to show off some of their skills," said Collins.
