Can you spell “auriferous”? What about “susurration”? Or “arpeggio”?
Eighth-grader Aurora Alten-Huber can. And she did on Tuesday, at the Haines School Spelling Bee.
Alten-Huber captured her second consecutive spelling crown, correctly spelling “auriferous” in the 12th round. Sixth-grader Stella Ordonez placed second, stumbling on “ecclesiastical,” and fifth-grader Mackenzy Dryden took third after tripping up on “appositive.”
By round eight, 11 of the 13 spellers had been knocked out, leaving Alten-Huber and Ordonez to battle it out for five rounds. Ordonez correctly spelled “sakura,” “deciduous” and “vainglorious” before succumbing to “ecclesiastical.”
“I was like, ‘Was that one on the list? Was it on a list I don’t have?’” Ordonez said after the competition, referring to the lists spellers are given to study.
Though contestants agreed they liked the competition being held in the school library this year instead of the intimidating middle school gymnasium, Dryden said she was still shaking like a leaf at the beginning of the bee.
“I felt like I was going to explode because I was so scared,” she said.
Dryden, who made it three more rounds than she did last year, said she was shocked she placed so highly. “I was kind of surprised I got into third place for how much I studied,” she said.
Studying is the key, said champion Alten-Huber. In addition to working through the provided list, she has been studying roots and foreign languages. Some might have been tempted to spell the winning word “auriferous” with an “o” at the start, but Alten-Huber was familiar with its Latin derivation and the symbol for gold on the periodic table in chemistry.
Alten-Huber is also a voracious reader, though that doesn’t help as much as one might think. “How many times are you going to come across the word ‘susurration’ in a book?” she asked.
Right now, Alten-Huber is re-reading “The Ring of Solomon” by Jonathan Stroud, a prequel to the Bartimaeus Trilogy.
Aside from reading and studying, receiving consistent support and encouragement from her mom Helen Alten was also integral to success, Alten-Huber said.
“I know I would have lost in the spelling bee if I wouldn’t have had my mother staying up with me and practicing every night,” she said.
Other words that knocked competitors out during the bee were: “habits,” “quack,” “Velcro,” “chair,” “reward,” “likable,” “barter,” “scarlet,” “moxie,” and “chortle.”
Parents, teachers and students packed the school library to watch the spellers compete. “They were awesome,” fifth-grader Natalie Crager said of her peers. “They got up there in front of people and spelled words.”
Alten-Huber must raise funds for her travel to the statewide spelling bee in Anchorage March 22. To contribute to her travel or fundraising efforts, call 766-2360 or write to P.O. Box 691, Haines, AK 99827.