Coming up this month at Lake Michigan College will be the 2024 Cloverleaf Spelling Competition.
Hosted by Berrien RESA, the event features students from school districts throughout Berrien, Cass, and Van Buren counties.
RESA Student Activities Coordinator Tonya Snyder tells us the event is an old school spelling bee with the students up there on a stage with a microphone. Each participating school sends their top three spellers.
“They host some in-house spelling bees to establish their top three spellers, and those top three spellers come to the stage, the Mendel Main Stage, and we spell for the morning,” Snyder said.
The event is a regional spelling bee, and the winners will go on to the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C. in the early summer.
Snyder says it can be humbling as an adult to see kids display advanced spelling skills.
“We kind of take for granted spelling and proper spelling, but it really is an art form that should be practiced. So it’s pretty great that the students that are up on the stage have practiced and understand the importance of root words and how that helps you spell a word correctly, and definitions, and the importance of language, really.”
The event will feature 45 spellers, and it is open to the public. Just remember to be quiet.
The spelling bee will be February 22 at the Mendel Center starting at 8:30 a.m. They’ll keep going until they have their winners.
Participating schools include:
Berrien County:
Berrien Springs Middle School
Brown Elementary School, St. Joseph Public Schools
Christ Lutheran School
E. P. Clarke Elementary School, St. Joseph Public Schools
Lakeshore Middle School
Lincoln Elementary School, St. Joseph Public Schools
New Buffalo Middle School
Ring Lardner Middle School, Niles Community Schools
Sylvester Elementary School, Berrien Springs Public Schools
Trinity Lutheran School, Berrien Springs
Upton Middle School, St. Joseph Public Schools
Cass County:
Dowagiac Middle School
Van Buren County:
Bangor Middle School
Hartford Public Schools
Lawton Middle School