JENNA DOSCH/VIEWDaniel Waqar of Rogich Middle School takes a moment to concentrate during the Eighth Grade Clark County Spelling Bee Final Jan. 30 at Vegas PBS, 4210 Channel 10 Drive. Daniel spelled "grotesque" and won the eighth-grade contest.
JENNA DOSCH/VIEWDaniel Waqar of Rogich Middle School takes a moment to concentrate during the Eighth Grade Clark County Spelling Bee Final Jan. 30 at Vegas PBS, 4210 Channel 10 Drive. Daniel spelled "grotesque" and won the eighth-grade contest.
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A podium stands alone to the right of the room waiting for someone to come and keep it company. Before the cameras start rolling, Clark County School District students are getting briefed on protocol.
Bright studio lights are hitting their young faces, and the Vegas PBS crew is preparing for the countdown. With the kids sitting in chairs on the left side, the three judges are seated behind a table covered in blue cloth in the middle of the room. Spellers' families, too, are gathered in the Vegas PBS studios, and moderator Sheila Parise walks over to the podium. The contest is ready to begin.
At the school district's 2008 spelling bee Jan. 30, 22 students participated at the sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade levels. Each grade level was given an ice breaker round of less-than-difficult words to spell so they could shake out any last minute nerves. After that, the bee was in full swing.
"This is big business for these guys," said Kristin Grimm, student activities project coordinator for the district. "It's so amazing to see them spell."
At the eighth-grade level, Daniel Waqar, from Rogich Middle School, 253 N. Pavilion Center Drive, took first place by spelling the word "grotesque" correctly.
"It doesn't even feel like it's real," Daniel said. "It's really great to win. I feel really exhilarated."
Daniel said he studied spelling on www.espindle.com, in addition to reading.
"Reading is just the best way to study," he said. "Most of the words I knew came from reading."
Daniel's mother, Shaheen Ahmad, and his brother, Shahrukh Ahmad, were present to see him win.
"I asked him to just work through the words and take his time," Shaheen said. "He made my day. He's such a good son."
At the seventh-grade level, Jordyn Phillips, from Swainston Middle School, 3500 W. Gilmore Ave., came in first place. Her championship word was "treacherous."
"I studied lists and lists of words," Jordyn said.
Jordyn also studied the roots and origins of words, which she said helped her derive the correct spelling of harder ones.
"It was a huge accomplishment," she said.
For the sixth-graders, Julien Tosques, from Miller Middle School, 2400 Cozy Hill Circle, won the title. His championship word was "teriyaki."
"It's nice to see academics come through in the spotlight," Grimm said.
The first- and second-place spellers in each grade will advance to the state finals to be held on March 8 in Las Vegas.
Some of the words that were given throughout the spelling bee included incontrovertible, flexor, platitude, ideological and animosity.
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