S-p-e-l-l-i-n-g contest: 25 schools battle at nation-wide spellathon

The second phase of the competition was held at Dawood Public School on Saturday.

KARACHI:

Young spelling maestros from about 25 schools reached Dawood Public School on Saturday morning in their crisp uniforms to compete for the second phase of the WWF - Pakistan’s Nation-wide Spellathon 2011. 

This year’s theme was water. The questions in the contest covered topics such as water conservation, water pollution and floods. The aim of the competition was to get the young minds to flex their skills in language, comprehension and vocabulary along with getting them to think about environmental awareness, said Asad Shahbaz, a corporate relations officer at WWF Pakistan.

The winners of the first phase came from Beaconhouse School System, Foundation Public School, Army Public School, Dawood Public School, Haq Academy, Falcon House Grammar School, The Pinnacle School, DA Shaikh Ziauddin School, DA Neelum High School, Clifton School, Karachi Grammar School, Lahore Grammar School among others. They came to participate in the second phase.

Each student was given a spellathon pack to prepare for the event. Each pack contained carefully crafted, innovative and child friendly compendiums and stationery, designed by the WWF for grades one till nine. Each student was also given a test paper with word puzzles. They had to fill in the missing letters or arrange the letters properly to spell the words.

Kanza Memon, a student of Beaconhouse School System, was a little disappointed. “I did not know the spelling of zooplankton,” she said. “I spelt it ‘zooplanckton’ in the paper.”

She was afraid that her friends might have performed better because she did not give enough time to studying for the competition because of her tests and exams.

Usman, a student of grade one from Foundation Public School, seemed determined to win. The reason? A bicycle as a prize. “My mother said I can ride the bicycle even outside the house if I win and get it,” he said. “I got help from my dada [grandfather], my sister and read the books given to us,” he added before he rushed to his parents to tell them of his performance.

Out of the 600 students expected, only half turned up. Shahbaz said that they charged a small fee of Rs100 to tackle disinterest in students and teachers.

According to Shahbaz, the competition has gained a lot of popularity across the country with time. This year’s spellathon targeted almost 150,000 students from across Pakistan.

The competition was simultaneously held in Karachi, Hyderabad, Sialkot, Faisalabad, Lahore and Islamabad. The third phase of the competition will be held next year in January and will decide a winner from each grade for year 2011.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 23^rd, 2011.