District Administrators Corner

by Loren Glasbrenner,  River Valley School District Administrator  Murraya - Murraya is a genus of flowering plants in the citrus family, Rutaceae. It is usually found in Asia, Australia, and the Pacific Islands. The genus produces shrubs or trees with leaves arranged alternately, usually glandular, aromatic, and leathery to membranous in texture. The leaflets vary in shape and have smooth or toothed edges. The genus of this plant is named after a Swedish botanist (http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org). Admittedly, I knew nothing of this word until yesterday. I have a teaching friend with the last name Murray and I know there is a breed of cattle called the Murray Grey, but I had not heard of “Murraya.” But, a 14-year-old named Zaila Avant-garde from New Orleans, Louisiana, knew the word and how to spell it to win the 2021 Scripps National Spelling Bee this week. Competition this year was fierce, with some new rules. Each level had an additional “word meaning” round to test vocabulary. In recent years, spelling rounds had ended in a tie. For example, in 2019 eight spellers won the bee. But this year, a new rule that was established stated that spellers who remained would be given 90 seconds to spell as many words as possible from a predetermined spell-off list of words. And Zaila beat her competition (spellingbee.com) to become the first African American to win the 90-year old national spelling bee. There was always something special about a school spelling bee and celebrating words at school. And now ESPN even televises the fun. It has become a way for a local student to qualify from a local bee, to a regional bee, to a state bee, to a national level. Other notable connections include a movie, Akeelah and the Bee, as well as the musical, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, as favorites to recognize the fun of a spelling bee.  Spelling bees have a long and complicated tradition, but the rules are rather simple: • From a predetermined list, a judge asks a participant to spell a word • The participant may then ask for a couple things • The word may be repeated (when asked) • The word may be defined (when asked) • The word may be used in a sentence (when asked) • Then, the participant has to spell the word • If it is correct, the judge states correct or rings a bell if incorrect • At the end of a round, participants leave or stay  • At the end of all rounds, the winner must spell an additional word correctly Yes, at school, spelling still matters. Yet as educators we also recognize that it has direct connections to memory and reading, which may be difficult for some. Just like anything, it is a process that we build understanding through and connect to the bigger picture of literacy. There are visual cues, auditory cues, and language cues that all can affect a student’s ability to spell. So, again, it matters but it is complex, and teachers are helpful in building skills and confidence. More importantly, words can be fun. Words can be investigated, learned, and create new meaning for kids (and adults). School is a great place to practice this and build new skills. Once again, we need to remember the capacity of children…students like Zaila are in our River Valley district classrooms every year.