Mandaue City's "Best Speller"

CEBU, Philippines - Ria Carolina Samantha M. Licarte, a Grade 6 pupil of Basak Elementary School, bested other seven contestants from the four districts of Mandaue City grade schools division in a recent Spelling Bee contest.

Sam was the first to score five points when she correctly spelled, both in written and in oral form, the word "labyrinth." The word, as we know, means maze or entanglement.

Her coach Mrs. Ma. Florenda S. Cameros, a Grade 2 teacher, revealed that prior to "labyrinth," Sam had difficulty in spelling out the word "nouveau," which means modern or up to date. The time limit obviously caused great pressure. The words were picked from the official Spelling Bee dictionary, which is the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language - 4th Edition.

Her win qualified Sam to the First Regional Spelling Contest on February 21, sponsored by the Mother Rotary Club of Cebu and Cebu Hub for English Learning Excellence in coordination with the Department of Education - Region 7.

She didn't make it to the final round there, though. But Sam was happy enough about the experience because it was fun and she learned a lot from it. She said, "My coach and I realized that we practiced more on words that are fit for the secondary level. We overlooked the easier ones. For example I spelled out 'abbreviate' instead of 'aggregate'."

Sam recalled that the first book she received from her mother as a gift was a compilation of fairytales by The Brothers Grimm. "[My mother] may have noticed that at an earlier age I [was] already interested in reading more than in any other things. Right now I'm into Nancy Drew and Edgar Allan Poe," she said.

Her current school doesn't have a high school level, so Sam plans to enroll at the Cebu Normal University soon. "I may take up Political Science in college. I would want to be guided as to how lawmakers spend the taxpayers' money. Right now I question why an ordinary person like Janet Lim Napoles could have so many connections in government," the girl bared.

The Spelling Bee competition inspires students to improve and advance their skills in spelling, expand their vocabulary, and encourage accurate word usage and pronunciation, by immersing them (the students) in a contest that provides both intellectual stimulation and fun.