Bee Guidelines
Welcome to the 31st Annual Wayland Public Schools Foundation Spelling Bee! We are so happy you are participating in this year’s event. Thank you for being part of this community fundraising event – we look forward to making it a special memory for your child.
The Bee is on Sunday, March 10th, from 12:00-4:30pm at Wayland High School. Within this block of time, your child will be assigned a 35-minute period for her or his round. A schedule listing teams and time slots will be posted on our website the beginning of March.
Some guidelines for day of the Bee:
Parking: There is a large parking lot at the high school with ample parking for the event.
Registration: Please check in at the registration table prior to going to your child’s round location. Registration is located at the main entrance to the high school in the Commons (cafeteria), which is in the North Building. At registration, you will also receive your child’s t-shirt.
Bee Round: Please arrive at your child’s round location 10-15 minutes prior to the round start time.
Please see the schedule for your child’s time and location. (Schedule will be posted once registration ends)
Bee Round Etiquette: Families and friends are welcome to watch the Bee rounds, but it is important that they are quiet. Participants must be able to hear the words clearly in order to spell them. In addition, if you are waiting for a round outside of the room, please remember that sound travels easily and is distracting for participants. Please keep voices down outside of the rooms while you wait.
Bee Round Rules: The Bee rules are attached. The rules will be explained to participants at the start of each round, but feel free to discuss them with your child in advance of the Bee. The goal of our day is for students to have fun!
Bee Covid Protocols: We will be following all Wayland Board of Health and Wayland Public Schools Covid protocols. Health attestations for all spectators will be required.
Other Questions that Day? Our volunteers will be wearing purple WPSF t-shirts, and the 2022 Spelling Bee chairs will be buzzing around in costume, please don’t hesitate to ask us for help.
Again, thank you for participating in the Wayland Public Schools Foundation Annual Spelling Bee. Funds raised from the Spelling Bee enable the WPSF to continue to provide grants to fund innovative educational resources at all five Wayland schools, helping our schools maintain their level of excellence.
Good luck to all of our spellers! Have a great time at the Spelling Bee!
Sincerely,
The 2024 Spelling Bee Committee
Melissa Davis-Bell, Caitlin Hornung, Bianca Serrano, and Heather Yates
SPELLING BEE RULES
Spelling Bee teams shall consist of three members, all from the same grade. One member is designated as the speaker for each word. Teams can choose to use the same speaker for the entire round, or have members take turns acting as the speaker, but there can only be one speaker for each word.
Five to eight teams compete in each 35-minute timeslot.
Each team will be challenged with a different word by the announcer who will clearly pronounce the assigned word, properly use it in a sentence, then repeat the word.
After the announcer has read the word for the second time, the team will have 20 seconds to discuss the word, agree on what the team thinks is the correct spelling and then write and circle the final spelling on one of the whiteboards provided. Each team member may write on his/her own whiteboard for purposes of discussing and reaching agreement on a final spelling of the word, but at the end of the 20 seconds, the team will present only one spelling of the word circled on only one whiteboard.
If there is a Spanish Immersion team in a timeslot, they will be given a grade appropriate Spanish word when it is their turn
Any team member may request that the word be repeated before the 20 seconds runs out. Writing instruments must be put down when time is up.
The team speaker:·
Must clearly say and then spell aloud the word as written and circled on the whiteboard.
The speaker's spelling must match the written, circled word. In the case of any misunderstanding, a judge will review the written, circled word and this will be the "submitted" answer.
Rounds 1 through 4 are DOUBLE ELIMINATION: For the first four rounds, teams are eliminated after the incorrect spelling of two words. After two misspellings, the team should turn down its name card.
Rounds 5 and after are SINGLE ELIMINATION: An incorrect spelling of a word disqualifies the team from further play and the team should turn down its name card.
If two or more teams are tied after the ninth round, there will be one final word given to each remaining team in Round 10. If only one team spells its word correctly, that team will be declared the winner. If all remaining teams spell their word correctly, OR if all remaining teams spell their word incorrectly, a tie will be declared.