Our Correspondent
Kohima | October 8
Watiyangla Kichu, a Class 12 student from Model Hr. Secondary School, Kohima won the coveted title of the 5th Nagaland Spelling Bee Championship 2016 on Saturday, at the Capital Convention Centre here.
“The preparation was intense. But I won not because of my ability but because of God’s grace. Luck and God’s grace was on my side,” commented Watiyangla after the announcement of the winner.
Winning the 5th Nagaland Spelling Bee Championship was no easy task. Watiyangla spent two hours practice and study in school every day for a month and another two hours of further practice at home.
During the last few days before the competition, Watiyangla said her school encouraged her and her fellow participant, Shanchobemo Murry (who secured the 3rd position) to devote 3 periods of classes in honing their spelling skills.
With an aim to sharpen the minds of the young students and to inculcate proper command of the words, further enabling them in their higher studies, the Fountain Club in collaboration with the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT), Nagaland introduced the Spelling Bee in 2012.
Running its 5th edition, the competition has got tougher, according to the champ. “This year was the toughest,” admitted Watiyangla who has been a regular spectator of the Nagaland Spelling Bee Championship. She also participated as student of Class 8 in the first edition of the championship. The next three years, Watiyangla was a regular visitor to the competition cheering and supporting her friends who were participating in the competition.
Shanchobemo Murry, who secured the third position, lost the finals after failing to spell the word ‘Clothier’ while Ringa and Watiyangla reached the finals after correctly spelling the words ‘Fructuous’ and ‘Streptokinase’ respectively.
The final round consisted of ten rounds where Watiyangla and Vetho Ringa, who won the second position, had to spell out words such as Pseudepigrapha, Tracasseries, Pappardelle, Bezique, Dachshund etc. From the ten rounds, Watiyangla spelled five words correctly while Ringa could only spell two words. The winning words for Watiyangla were Flugelhorn, Gauche, Braille, Ubiquitous.
“It is a platform for students to learn and to showcase their abilities. Participating in this championship enhances a lot of our English usages and vocabulary,” said Kichu adding that the championship has also fostered friendship among the students from various parts of the State. Impressed by quality of the event and the excellent performance of the competitors, Timikha Koza, president Tenyimi People’s Organization (TPO) made a declaration to sponsor the prize money for champion in the 6th edition next year.
Referring to the final round performance of the competitors, he said “We are also catching up. By seen your performance, I am so impressed. We can do it.” Koza lauded the organizer for building the mental capacity of the students and extended solidarity to Fountain Club for such activity.
