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Insider’s Guide to the 2015 Scripps National Spelling Bee – Rounds 2 and 3

Outside the Maryland Ballroom, many spellers are asked for quick interviews by various media people.
Here I am with Cy Orentlicher and his sister, Shayna. I first met these 2 in 2013! Cy is a semifinalist this year and Shayna is probably the youngest person with media credentials at the bee.
I was asked for an interview by USA Today.
Cameras, cameras, everywhere!

This morning, Round 2 of the 2015 Scripps National Spelling Bee commenced. Contestants had to spell words under incredibly bright lights, cameras from every angle, and, of course, tons of pressure. Not very many spellers missed their onstage word in this round. However, a few contestants did misspell their words and were eliminated from the competition.

Round 3 started with 279 out of 285 spellers. The Round 3 words increased in difficulty and many more contestants were eliminated in this round. At the end of Round 3, there were 214 spellers left.

I correctly spelled the word “regatta” in Round 2 and “ochlophobia” in Round 3.

After Round 3, the semifinalists were announced, however, my name was not called. I did not accrue enough points to proceed to the Semifinals. Even though I won’t be participating in the Semifinals,  I am looking forward to watching them tomorrow morning and cheering on the remaining 49 spellers. You can watch all the action on ESPN2 tomorrow morning. Go to spellingbee.com for details.

After the Semifinals announcement, all of the spellers got an awesome surprise! Since Microsoft is a sponsor of the Scripps Spelling Bee, we all received a Microsoft Surface 3! Thank you Microsoft!!

After an exhausting day, I did an interview with WHAS-TV over Skype and now I’m really, really tired so I’m going to bed! Good night!

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Insider’s Guide to the 2015 Scripps National Spelling Bee – Round 1

Here I am waiting for the test to begin.
All 285 spellers took the preliminaries exam at the same time this morning.
Rounds 2 and 3 will also occur in the Maryland Ballroom of the Gaylord Convention Center.

This morning we gathered for an assembly. We were introduced to Scripps staff as well as Bee officials including the pronouncer, Dr. Jacques Bailly, and the head judge, Mrs. Mary Brooks. Kate Miller, who was a finalist last year, reviewed the rules of the spelling bee and gave us some suggestions about what we should do for the on stage portions of the Bee.

Round 1 began shortly after the assembly. All 285 spellers took the exam at the same time this year. The preliminaries exam consisted of 26 multiple choice questions which included both spelling and vocabulary. The total number of points that could be earned in this round is 30. A speller needs to do well on this exam in order to have a chance at advancing in the bee because the points from this round are added to points earned on stage during Rounds 2 and 3 tomorrow. However, if a speller misspells on stage, they are eliminated. Only a maximum of 50 spellers advance to the semifinals; these people are the highest scorers through Round 3 of the competition. Some examples of spelling words we were asked were meunière, tarsorrhaphy, and schmierkase.  Using my root word knowledge, I was able to figure out the definitions of words such as viridigenous (producing greenness), and hypercryalgesia (excessive pain due to cold) but there were many other words I didn’t know.

I think that many of the spellers would agree with me when I say that the exam was extremely difficult. I tried my best and I now know that I need to study more word roots as well as language patterns. We will find out the results of the exam tomorrow afternoon.

The highlight of the day was when 3 of my grandparents arrived to cheer me on! I hope you all will be able to watch Rounds 2 and 3 tomorrow on ESPN3. I am speller 93. 

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Insider’s Guide to the 2015 Scripps National Spelling Bee – Memorial Day Barbecue

In the pavilion area, spellers and their families enjoyed delicious food and interesting conversation.
My sister loved the arts and crafts area the most.
Forming a “spelling circle” is an efficient way to get your Bee Keeper signed. Simply pass your Bee Keeper around and wait for it to get back to you.
Many spellers enjoyed dancing at the barbecue.
Spellers engaged in sports like volleyball and softball.
Creating sand art was a popular activity among spellers.

It was a beautiful day to be outside and enjoy the Memorial Day Barbecue with the other spellers and their families. There were plenty of activities to keep us occupied for several hours today. People entered dance contests, played volleyball, or engaged in arts and crafts activities. Face painters and caricature artists were also on hand to paint faces and draw humorous portraits. I entered the hula hooping contest and was not the first person out!

This was also a great opportunity to socialize with the other spellers and, of course, collect more autographs in my Bee Keeper. Tomorrow is the first official day of competition; it begins in the morning with the preliminary written exam (Round 1). On Wednesday, Round 2 and Round 3 will occur on stage and will be live streamed on ESPN3. If you are interested in watching these rounds, please go to spellingbee.com for the broadcasting schedule!

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Insider’s Guide to the 2015 Scripps National Spelling Bee – The Journey Begins

One of my favorite spellers is Vanya Shivashankar.
Dev last competed in 2012 as a 5th grader and has returned as an 8th grader this year!
The Bee Keeper is one of my favorite bee traditions.
All the spellers received t-shirts at orientation along with a bag full of bee souvenirs.
Paige Kimble is the executive director of the Scripps National Spelling Bee.
Spellers collecting autographs in their Bee Keepers during orientation.

Early this morning, I left Louisville to begin my journey to the Scripps National Spelling Bee.

The main event today was a speller orientation at which we learned about the schedule of events and activities planned for the week. This was also my first opportunity to meet the other spellers and it was so exciting! I saw some familiar faces and met lots of new people. Being here among these amazing spellers reminded me of why I have studied so hard to qualify for the Bee again.

The most important thing that happened during orientation was that all of the spellers received their Bee Keepers! One of the great traditions of bee week is the Bee Keeper which is a picture book with fun facts about each speller. Collecting autographs of spellers in my book is my most favorite thing to do during the week!

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Harry Potter Characters – Remus Lupin

Remus Lupin was also known as “Moony” to his friends because he transformed into a werewolf during the full moon. harrypotter.wikia.com
Remus Lupin as a werewolf. harrypotter.wikia.com

J.K. Rowling uses lots of charactonyms throughout the Harry Potter series. Merriam Webster defines charactonym as “a name  for a fictional character  that suggests a distinctive trait of the character.”  In Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher is hired and his name is Remus Lupin. Lupin is very similar to the word lupine,  an adjective which means of or relating to a wolf.  Lupine comes from the Latin word lupus meaning wolf.  Lupin’s name betrays what he actually is, a werewolf! I like trying to decipher the charactonyms that J.K. Rowling uses in her books, because it makes the books more interesting and exciting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Harry Potter Characters – Argus Filch

Argus Filch, the caretaker of Hogwarts, seems to have eyes everywhere, just like Argus Panoptes. Photo from http://www.harrypotter.wikia.com.
Hermes lulls Argus to sleep and slays him as a favor to Zeus. Photo from “Greek Gods and Goddesses”. Dover Coloring Books, Dover Publications, Inc.

Let’s look at another example of how J.K. Rowling incorporates references to Greek mythology in the Harry Potter series.

Argus Filch is the despised caretaker of Hogwarts.  He is named after the Greek mythological character Argus Panoptes, the obedient watchman of Hera. Panoptes comes from the Greek roots pan- meaning all and -opt meaning eye or vision. Argus (the mythological character) had 100 eyes all over his body that enabled him to see everything around him at all times while Argus Filch seems to see everything that is out of place at Hogwarts at all times.  “Filch knew the secret passageways of the school better than anyone … and could pop up…suddenly” just in time to catch students breaking rules (Page 133). The students disliked him very much; Harry stated that something “even worse than Peeves, if that was possible, was the caretaker, Argus Filch” (Page 132).

Filch’s loyal companion was a cat named Mrs. Norris, who acted as another pair of eyes for him.  The students absolutely detested her because if they broke “a rule in front of her, put just one toe out of line, … she’d whisk off for Filch”(Page 132) and “…it was the dearest ambition of many to give Mrs. Norris a good kick” (Page 133) for she was so annoying.

Quotes cited from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.

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Harry Potter Characters – Minerva McGonagall

Professor McGonagall is named after the Roman goddess Minerva. Photo from http://www.harrypotter.wikia.com
The Roman goddess Minerva was called Athena by the Greeks. Photo from: Dover Coloring Books “Greek Gods and Goddesses.” Dover Publications, Inc.

J.K. Rowling uses references to mythological characters throughout the Harry Potter series. For example, the character Minerva McGonagall is named after the Roman goddess Minerva. Minerva is the goddess of wisdom and war; the Greeks called her Athena. Minerva (or Athena) is usually depicted holding the Aegis, her shield which bears the head of the terrible Medusa.

Minerva McGonagall is the wise and powerful Transfiguration teacher at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. As an expert in the difficult art of Transfiguration, Professor McGonagall can easily turn a table into a hog and a rat into a goblet. She can even transfigure herself into an orange tabby cat.

If I were fighting in a battle, I would want Minerva McGonagall on my side. In the Deathly Hallows, Minerva McGonagall fights bravely against Voldemort’s Death Eaters, never backing down. My favorite part is when Professor McGonagall wisely calls forth the statues and suits of armor to help defend Hogwarts. She shouts, “Hogwarts is threatened!” “Man the boundaries, protect us, do your duty to our school.”(pg. 602). Hundreds of statues, many brandishing swords and weapons, come alive and obey her.

Minerva McGonagall is both wise and fierce in battle, just like the Roman goddess.

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pachyderm (pakə̇ˌdərm)

The females in an elephant herd are very protective of the baby elephants. Okavango Delta, Botswana.
A bachelor herd in the Okavango Delta, Botswana.
An elephant taking a drink. Okavango Delta, Botswana.
A majestic male elephant roams alone.
The oldest female in a herd is the matriarch. She is wise and leads the herd to food and water.

When I visited India last year, I was lucky enough to watch a religious procession led by two majestic elephants go past my house*. Elephants, rhinoceroses, and hippopotamuses are often described as pachyderms, referring to their thick skin. Pachyderm contains the Greek roots pachy– meaning thick and –derm meaning skin. My favorite pachyderm is the elephant.

There used to be 350 species of elephants, but today there are only two kinds of elephants left, the Asian elephant and the African elephant. The African elephants are the larger of the two types. Asian elephants typically have small ears and rarely have tusks.

Female elephants live in herds and the oldest female is the matriarch. She leads and guides the herd to food and water. When males become adults, they get kicked out of the herd by the matriarch and either wander about by themselves or join a small group of other males.

Elephants are endangered meaning that they are at risk of dying out. Elephants suffer from habitat loss and ivory poaching. Sadly, people are still poaching elephants for their beautiful ivory tusks, even though it is illegal. Elephants are considered a keystone species which means that they are particularly important to the environment. They make trees fall and then eat them, giving smaller plants a chance to grow. These smaller plants provide food for other animals. If elephants became extinct, that would be a shame because they are such beautiful, intelligent creatures.

I hope you enjoy the pictures in this post; my parents took them during a trip to Zambia and Botswana a few years ago.

*Even though I enjoyed the procession in India, I think that elephants should be allowed to roam wild and be free from human control.

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Metamorphosis (metə-morfəsə̇s)

The caterpillars are hungry!
After the caterpillars became chrysalides, we moved them into a butterfly habitat.
A Painted Lady butterfly prepares to fly away.
We released the Painted Lady butterflies in our garden.

My sister recently received caterpillars for her sixth birthday. The hungry caterpillars arrived in a jar with food, and we were able to observe them as they went through the different stages of their life cycle. A week after they arrived, the caterpillars became chrysalides, and underwent metamorphosis. Ten days later, they emerged as beautiful Painted Lady butterflies. We were in awe as we watched this amazing process occur before our eyes. Metamorphosis contains the Greek roots meta- meaning change and -morph meaning form. The suffix -osis means a process or condition. The roots and the suffix tell us that metamorphosis means “the process of changing form.” Animals that undergo metamorphosis are butterflies, moths, and frogs.

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cephalopod (se-fə-lə-päd)

The only cephalopod with a shell is a nautilus. In the picture is a chambered nautilus.
A stumpy cuttlefish is a type of cephalopod
A giant Pacific octopus is very smart.
Bigfin reef squid at the Monterey Bay Aquarium.
My sister pretending to be a cephalopod using interactive software at the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

When we were in California, we visited the world-famous Monterey Bay Aquarium. Their special exhibit was Tentacles: The Astounding World of Octopuses, Squids and Cuttlefishes. The exhibit was all about cephalopods. You may ask yourself, what are cephalopods? Cephalopods are a group of marine molluscs that are related to snails and slugs. Octopuses, squids, cuttlefish, and nautili belong in this group. Cephalopods are equipped with breath-taking abilities that allow them to escape predators and, thus, survive. Octopuses in particular are notorious for their ability to disguise themselves; they can change their color and texture up to 20 times in 1 minute! Cephalopod comes from the Greek roots cephalo- meaning head and –pod meaning foot. Cephalopod literally means “head foot.” I think that the name “head foot” is appropriate since cephalopods look like their feet are attached to their head.

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