Nathan

The Gleaner's Children's Own Spelling Bee parish finals ended on a very lively note last Friday, as the audience and spellers ensured that the spelldown was filled with excitement and cheers.

The event, which was held at the Wesley Methodist Church in Savanna-la-Mar, Westmoreland, had a huge attendance of 57 spellers from 29 schools. When it was over, a confident Crystalee Nathan from Unity Primary defeated Akeemah Robinson of Frome Preparatory to emerge as parish champion.

Barbara Ramsay, a proud mother, told The Gleaner this was Nathan's second time at the parish finals and indicated that last year she faced an early elimination.

"The first time she was knocked out on the first word and she cried," said an elated Ramsay. Despite Nathan's early defeat last year, the 11-year-old speller was told by her mother that she would be back this year.

When asked what her secret to victory was, the speller simply replied, "I studied harder, I studied very hard."

Claudia Hall-Forrester (head coach) and Yvonne Hines (coach) said that a lot of work was done to achieve this success. When asked why Nathan was asked to represent Unity Primary after her previous failure, Forrester quickly indicated that it was an innocent mistake.

"We knew that it was not because she didn't know the word, it was just a slip of the tongue and that was the reason," said a satisfied Hall-Forrester.

Described by her coaches as a committed young lady with the ability to work without supervision, Nathan is the final speller to join 13 other top spellers who will represent their parishes at the island's premier spelling event come February 2009.

- M.L.

Quick information

Winning word: T-E-N-T-A-C-L-E-S

Champion girl/overall champion: Crystalee Nathan, Unity Primary School

Champion boy: Ajani Campbell (third), Frome Preparatory School

Other top-five spellers: Akeemah Robinson (second), Ashley Harriott (fourth) and Chantoya Brown (fifth)

Number of spellers: 57

Number of schools: 29