MISD Names 2019 District Spelling Bee Champion

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After two hours of meticulously spelling out a list of vocabulary words, the word “cordial,” followed by the sound of an elimination bell, left only one student standing.

Tiffany Lam, a seventh-grader at T.A. Howard Middle School, stepped forward to the microphone. Her heart started to beat rapidly when she knew she was only one word away from being the Mansfield ISD spelling bee champion.

“When he first said ‘amputation,’ I thought it was really easy, but I went slower just in case,” Lam recalled.

She spelled the word correctly, and the crowd cheered with excitement to welcome the new districtwide winner.

MISD hosted its annual spelling bee on Feb. 8 at the Mansfield ISD Center for the Performing Arts. The contestants are students from third grade through eighth grade throughout the district who have won at their campus.

“Last year, I think we went 17 rounds. This year, we went 53 rounds. That’s the longest, I believe, in our history,” said Kristi Gonzales, MISD coordinator of elementary language arts. “So it’s pretty incredible to see the growth, and I think that’s attributed a lot to some of our explicit phonics instruction in the classroom.”

Beekman says she was more nervous than Lam during the bee.

Lam knew the feeling of being in the final round all too well. She was a runner-up in the district spelling bee last year; but this year, she felt confident that the trophy would be hers. She said her strategy for remembering the correct spelling was to write the word with her finger on her hand.

“It felt amazing because I’ve been going to the district spelling bee since fourth grade,” said Lam. “Now, that’s all paid off.”

Event organizers noted that being part of the competition is about more than simply spelling. Participants are able to increase their social skills as well.

“We’re asking them to get up on stage and spell publicly, which is helping them with their communication, and their public speaking skills and their building their self-confidence,” Gonzales continued.

This is the second consecutive year a student from T.A. Howard Middle School has placed first in the district spelling bee. Her teacher said it is a very proud moment.

“She’s absolutely a phenomenal kid,” said English teacher Lisa Beekman. “We just have some phenomenal spellers. They’re just phenomenal spellers out there. We’ve been blessed for two years in a row to collect those kids.”

Lam will participate in the 2019 Scripps Regional Spelling Bee on Thursday, March 7 at 8 a.m. The event will take place at Texas Christian University.

MISD Schools Team Up to Empower Adolescent Girls

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With the growing emphasis on social media likes and the changing standards of beauty, there’s a lot of pressure put on teenage girls in today’s society.

Two Mansfield ISD counselors heard firsthand the various stories of low self-confidence, so they set out to let young women know their own worth.

“The young ladies who come into my office are often talking about their low self-esteem, doing things in regards to them wanting attention from young men, and things of that nature,” said Candace Chism, seventh-grade counselor at T.A. Howard Middle School. “Or they’re coming in and just saying, ‘I don’t think I’m beautiful. I don’t think anybody likes me.’”

Chism collaborated with Marcie Thomas, a counselor at neighboring Cross Timbers Intermediate School, to inspire girls to become positive women through a half-day conference. Approximately 100 teenage girls from both campuses attended the Level Up Girls Empowerment Conference on Jan. 10 at the Mansfield ISD Center for the Performing Arts.

There were four breakout sessions covering the topics of self-image, mental health, hygiene and career goals. The keynote speaker was former Miss Black USA, Ocielia Gibson.

Organizers and students wore "flawsome" shirts to remind
each other that everyone is flawed yet equally awesome.

“I had an amazing time with the girls. What we did is talk to them about being pretty ‘L.I.T.,’” Gibson said after her presentation. “My philosophy and my recipe for being L.I.T. is loving yourself, ignoring distractions and turning towards your dreams and destiny.”

The girls who attended said they were able to learn something new and open up about relevant topics to adults who have been through the same thing.

“I think it’s a really good thing to have for kids my age and a little older because it’s something that we don’t really like to talk about a lot,” said Rebekkah Gorman, sixth-grader at Cross Timbers Intermediate School. “And I feel like if we have people who have come from that and can really explain it to us, that’d be good for us.”

Thomas said she plans to continue the conference in the years to come. In the meantime, she hopes to see some immediate improvements in the attitude and behavior of the newly empowered teenagers.

“Success to me would be me seeing these girls in the hallway exuding what they’ve been taught,” the counselor explained. “I’d love to see the girls affirming each other after this and staying away from the unnecessary drama.”

The conference was for girls in grades 6 through 8. The counselors said those who attended were chosen directly by them, referred by other staff members or showed great interest in the topics being discussed.

MISD’s Youngest District Spelling Bee Champ Reclaims Title

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It was a familiar feeling for 13-year-old Kailey Choi to be on stage holding the district spelling bee plaque.

The eighth-grader from T.A. Howard Middle School made her debut at the Mansfield ISD District Spelling Bee when she was in third grade and became MISD’s youngest champion.

In the following years, Choi qualified for the competition but fell short of the first place title. That is, until this year’s contest, which is the last year she will be able to participate in the event.

“It’s like a legacy,” she said. “I won first, and I won last.”

Choi competed with campus winners from MISD’s elementary, intermediate and middle schools to earn the district title. She won in the ninth round with the word “infrastructure.”

Choi's father and principal came to support her.

“When I heard the word, I freaked out; but then I calmed myself down and said it letter by letter,” Choi explained.

Organizers of the Feb. 9 event, sponsored by the Mansfield Sunshine Rotary Club, said they have been preparing for it since September. It takes work to coordinate each campus bee and the district competition, but they said the end result is satisfying.

“My favorite part of the spelling bee is seeing those kids on stage with their eager faces and all of their study skills and habits coming into fruition,” said Kristi Gonzales, MISD coordinator of elementary language arts.

Gonzales added that spelling bees help students with communication skills and self-confidence.

Choi will be going off to high school next year and will not be eligible to compete, but she gave her advice for those wanting to earn the next district title.

“What you have to do is strive for it, study and be calm.”

The spelling bee champ will now prepare for the Scripps Regional Spelling Bee on March 1 at Texas Christian University. When she appeared at the event five years ago, she lasted 14 rounds.

MISD Spelling Bee Campus Winners

School	Student
Alice Ponder Elementary	Dinh Luong
Anna May Daulton Elementary	Prince Olowookere
Annette Perry Elementary	Riley Myrow
Asa Low Intermediate	Samantha Malone
Brooks Wester Middle School	Emmanuel Allison
Carol Holt Elementary	Emily Trinh
Charlotte Anderson Elementary	Daniel Ogiozee
Cora Spencer Elementary	Kaleb Giggins
Cross Timbers Intermediate	Tiffany Lam (district runner-up)
D. P. Morris Elementary	Amina Allen
Danny Jones Middle School	Zoe Leddy
Della Icenhower Intermediate	Ayush Shah
Donna Shepard Intermediate	Jaxson Latimer
Elizabeth Smith Elementary	Caden Overby
Erma Nash Elementary	Joseph Oehlke
Glenn Harmon Elementary	Omar Akkad
Imogene Gideon Elementary	Adebola Adeshola
J. L. Boren Elementary	Mariam Dohadwala
James Coble Middle School	Yvaine Penaranda
Janet Brockett Elementary	Marli Field
Judy Miller Elementary	Zain Durrani
Kenneth Davis Elementary	Josiah Smith
Linda Jobe Middle School	Ruth Oyerokun
Louise Cabaniss Elementary	Lucy Duku
Martha Reid Elementary	Angel Brefro
Mary Jo Sheppard Elementary	Marcus Jones
Mary Lillard Intermediate	Collin Overby
Mary Orr Intermediate	Noah Gakuba
Nancy Neal Elementary	Kamryn Ross
Roberta Tipps Elementary	Ryu Cheng
Rogene Worley Middle School	Tojumi Olayiwole
T. A. Howard Middle School	Kailey Choi  (district winner)
Tarver-Rendon Elementary	Joshua Oyerokun
Thelma Jones Elementary	Hailey Alajandre
Willie Brown Elementary	Tej Marimuthu