Regional spelling bee open for registration

Registration is open for schools that wish to participate in the sixth annual Southeast Missouri Regional Spelling Bee, set for Feb. 28 at Three Rivers College in Poplar Bluff.

Participating schools must complete their registration by Oct. 15 and complete a schoolwide spelling bee before Feb. 6. Students must not be older than age 14 on or before Aug. 31 and cannot have passed beyond the eighth grade on or before Feb. 1.

The top three contestants from each qualifying school will be eligible to participate in the regional spelling bee in Poplar Bluff, Missouri, with the winner receiving an expenses-paid trip to compete in the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C.

The 2014 champion, Jade Ray Samanta of Trinity Lutheran School in Cape Girardeau, was a national semifinalist and competed live on ESPN2. Previous champions include Adeesh Mishra from Sacred Heart School in Poplar Bluff and Summer Johnston from Advance Middle School in Advance, Missouri.

The bee is open to all public, private, parochial and home schools within a 17-county area. Registration is $120 per school and must be completed at spellingbee.com. For more information, contact Mark Sanders at 573-840-9618 or msanders@trcc.edu.