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GCA’s Calayo tops Scripps Reg’l Spelling Bee in Guam
Grace Christian Academy’s Justine Calayo was named as the 2015 Scripps Regional Spelling Bee champion last Saturday after correctly spelling “echidna” in the competition’s 20th round held at Leo Palace Resort in Guam.
The 8th grade student, last year’s spelling bee competition’s runner-up, defeated the competition’s returning champion, Rocky Caoloma from Santa Barbara Catholic School, and 50 other student competitors.
2015 Scripps Regional Spelling Bee champion Justine Calayo, center, poses for a photo with her mother Des Calayo, left, and GCA teacher and spelling coach Joanna Marie Dubiel. (Contributed Photo)
“It felt great that all my studying paid off,” she told Saipan Tribune in an interview. “I practiced two to three days a week with my coach since the beginning of February, but I also studied on my own and with my mom.”
Calayo has participated in various spelling bee competitions for four years now. With her regional win, Calayo will represent the region on May 24-29 at the national competition in Washington, D.C.
Her mother, Des Calayo, was present at the competition to watch her daughter win the regional tilt. Grace Christian Academy English and theology teacher Joanna Dubiel served as the student’s spelling coach.
“Preparation for the regional bee consisted of significant study of word origins,” Dubiel said. “We would then study orally, while creating written flash cards for missed words.”
In preparation for the national competition, Dubiel explained that the student will broaden her studies to vocabulary, which will heavily focus on Latin and Greek roots.
The Scripps National Spelling Bee hosts over 200 spellers from eight countries to compete for the first place title every year. It is usually broadcast nationally by ESPN.
