Bulgarian National English Spelling Bee

Greetings from our beehive! We have some exciting news for you!

Each year there is a different campaign incorporated into the Spelling Bee competition. The aim is to focus the participants’ attention on important topics such as volunteering, internet safety, media literacy, community building, active lifestyle, etc. Through these campaigns we incorporate civic education into our program because we believe that young people should be equipped with the necessary skills and capabilities to be actively involved in their communities and to participate in the decision-making process. We have the privilege to work with some of the brightest minds in the country and it is our responsibility to nurture them to become the future leaders of Bulgaria.

The slogan of this year’s competition will be “BEE Green”. It is important for us to educate young people in responsibility, care and love for the Earth. The last decades are proof that our planet needs help. We often take it for granted, without even suspecting the terrifying consequences that our actions bring in their wake. The good news is that it's never too late to become greener in our daily lives. We are convinced that every small step leads to a better shared future.

Every month (from November to March) we will give students a challenge. The tasks will be related to leading an environmentally friendly lifestyle, limiting environmentally harmful products and saving natural resources. We will share with interesting ideas and fun activities that will engage them to be "greener" in everyday life. The special focus of the campaign will be on the importance of bees for our ecosystem. Together we can help our planet and make it a better place to live!

Stay tuned :)

The active Spelling Bee season started with the school round. The school competitions took place in the last week of February. Each school had the opportunity to choose the day and time for the school competition within that week. In emotional „spelling battles“ the schools managed to select their champions and runners-up who qualify for the regional round.

The regional qualifiers received lists with additional words – 250 words for the Spelling Bee participants and 100 words for the juniors.

The regional competitions (10 for Spelling Bee and 8 for Spelling Bee Junior) were held on March 25th and 26th and 30 Spelling Bee national finalists and 24 Spelling Bee JUNIOR finalists were selected.

The national finals happened on April 22^nd for Spelling Bee and on April 23^rd for Spelling Bee JUNIOR at the big hall of the American college of Sofia.

30 national finalists competed at the Spelling Bee final and demonstrated impressive knowledge of English language. They went through 12 rounds of words from the study list and the best of them had to show their expanded knowledge while spelling unstudied words. After a long (almost 3 hours) competition from Math & Science High Scholl in Kyustendil won the title National Spelling Bee Champion. All participants received certificates for participation, trophies and other gifts. But the most anticipated award for all the finalists is the summer Spelling Bee camp which will be organized in the first week of July.

The JUNIOR competition on April 23^rd was even more intense and Boris  and Denis  (both from Sofia) were announced co-champions. The junior finalists also received certificates for participation, trophies and many other gifts. They will have the chance to participate in an on-line summer camp during the last week of June.

Together with the preparation for the competition, all the participating schools were offered the opportunity to take part in the BEE active campaign which was announced in November. Its goal is to encourage the students to be physically active and to take part in various activities offered by the organizers. Every week a challenge was sent to all registered schools and they could choose in which to participate. Famous athletes, physically active professionals, teachers and students presented different sports and activities and challenged the students to take part in long walks, hikes, biking, dancing, sport games, etc. The schools prepared videos about the activities they organized and Geo Milev Secondary School from Belozem won the 1^st place and 81 Secondary school “Victor Hugo” from Sofia won the 2^nd place. The winners will receive certificates and awards.

The Spelling Bee summer camp for the national Spelling Bee champions and their teachers will be organized in July.

Links:

• https://www.spellingbee.bg/2023-sb-school-competitions/
• https://www.spellingbee.bg/2022-sb-regional-competitions/
• https://www.spellingbee.bg/2023-sb-national-final/