ANNOUNCEMENT

Despite a great venue at Quaker Bridge Mall, a lot of publicity, and great support from area businesses, it seems that the Spellabration Adult Spelling Bee is an idea whose time has not yet come.

For that reason, the Lawrence Township Education Foundation regrets that the event will be POSTPONED to a yet-to-be-determined future date.

The spelling bee, which was to have been held on March 8th, had not drawn enough spellers to make for an exciting competition. So please be patient with us while we brush up on our spelling and look for more news in the fall.

The Spellabration Scavenger Hunt WILL GO ON as planned! Deadline for completed prize forms is March 11, 2008.

Thanks to the following sponsors:

• Quaker Bridge Mall
• First Choice Bank
• Lawrence Grill
• League of Women Voters
• Three Bears Communication
• TPC Math Tutors

And to prize donors:

• Chick-fil-A
• Heavenly Ham
• Rita’s Water Ice, and
• TJ’s Pizzeria

WHAT'S THE BUZZ?
A Community-Wide Spelling Bee

Saturday March 8 from 1 to 4pm Postponed
Quaker Bridge Mall

In celebration of its 15th anniversary, the Lawrence Township Education Foundation (LTEF) is sponsoring a Community Spellabration - a unique event that will bring adult spellers together to compete for prestige and prizes. The event will be held at Quaker Bridge Mall on Saturday, March 8 from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m.

How does it work? Community members (over the age of 18) form three-person teams and register to compete. Local organizations are encouraged to sponsor teams and unaffiliated spellers can register to be put on a team. On March 8th, sixty-four teams will come together to test their spelling powers against a challenging list of words. There will be eight spelling rounds and each winning team will receive prizes to mark their accomplishments. They will also be eligible to participate in the Championship Round to determine the overall winner.

LTEF is seeking spellers, sponsors and volunteers to help with the event. There will be audience participation spelling between rounds - celebrity judges - lots of buzz - and all proceeds will benefit Lawrence Township Public Schools. So come on out and join the fun. Visit the LTEF web site for more details and for Spellabration updates and downloads. Or call 609.219.0340 or email info@ltefnj.org.

How does a community spelling bee work?

• Teams of three adults compete against each other in rounds of up to eight teams.
• There are eight rounds in the Bee. Round winners are eligible for prize.
• The winner of each round will then compete in the Championship Round.

Rules

The Teams

Each team will consist of three members, including the captain.

Team members must be 18 years of age on the date of the Bee unless entered on a Youth Team.

Youth Team members must be between the ages of 15 & 17 on Bee day.

Unaffiliated spellers may participate by registering to be put on a team (as spots are available). LTEF will assign spellers to teams at their own discretion.

On Bee Day, teams can substitute members but must do so at check-in. LTEF is not responsible for finding substitute team members and entry fees will not be refunded. No substitutions may be made between the regular round and the Championship Round.

All team members must provide signed photo release forms for publicity purposes. These may be downloaded and signed in advance. The forms will also be available at the Spelling Bee and must be signed before competition begins.

The Words

All words on the Spelling Bee word lists may be found in Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Edition, which can be found online at www.m-w.com. Words will be pronounced according to the diacritical markings in the Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Edition.

Check-In

You will be notified of which round your team is participating in and given an arrival time.

Upon arrival, go to the Speller Check-in area to make sure that all of your paperwork is in order.

Speller Check-list: (1) Payment of Entry Fee, (2) Photo Release Form, (3) Substitution of Spellers Noted

Spelling

• The pronouncer will pronounce the word.
• The team captain may request the definition, ask that the word be used in a sentence, that the word origin be given and/or that it be pronounced one additional time.
• Team members may collaborate on the spelling of a word. Each team will have a white board to assist in the process, but the word must be spelled aloud.
• Each team will have 30 seconds to spell the word. The captain may spell the word at any time during the 30 seconds. The captain will be notified when 5 seconds remain to begin spelling.
• The speller will not be disqualified for failing to indicate use of a capital letter if the word is normally capitalized.
• Having started to spell a word, a speller may stop and start over, retracing the spelling from the beginning. In retracing, however, there can be no change of letters or their sequence from those first pronounced. If letters or their sequence is altered in any way, the team will be eliminated from the competition.
• Upon misspelling of a word, the team is eliminated from the competition. The next team in the competition then spells the next word on the list.
• A round is over when all but one team is eliminated. The winner of each round will go on to compete in the Championship Round.
• The judges will make the final decision on all questions, including dispute concerning pronunciation. There will be no appeals.

Check-Out

Before leaving the bee area, spellers should check out to receive parting gifts, certificates, and/or trophies.

Answers to Excellence Express Spelling Quiz

In the latest issue of our Excellence Express newsletter, we posed a short quiz. Find the answers by clicking questions below. If you haven't taken the quiz already, good luck!