ZEEBURG Secondary School student Janeisha Daniels emerged champion of the Rotary Club of Stabroek’s Region Three Public Secondary Schools Spelling Bee after nine rounds of competition involving 51 students from across the region.
Daniels secured the top position ahead of Zack Carter of West Demerara Secondary School, who placed second, while Louriel Forde of Leonora Secondary School finished third.
The competition, held at the West Demerara Secondary School on September 24, brought together three students from each of Region Three’s 17 public secondary schools, marking the return of the Rotary-organised event after a 14-year hiatus.
The 51 competitors participated in the opening and semi-final rounds before the field was reduced to 10 finalists.
West Demerara Secondary School produced the strongest representation in the final, with Carter, Jael Whittaker and Maliya Farley all advancing. Leguan Secondary School also had two finalists, Sameer Lall and Siara White.
The remaining finalists were Daniels and Sharmilla Sookdeo of Zeeburg Secondary School, Forde of Leonora Secondary School, Z’iare Samuel-Jones of Endeavour and the Commons Secondary School, and Canade Beepat of Stewartville Secondary School.
As the competition progressed, contestants were challenged with increasingly difficult words drawn from higher grade levels, testing their vocabulary, concentration, composure and spelling skills.
Technology was also used to support the conduct of the competition. Specialised software containing more than 6,000 words categorised according to grade level randomly selected words for contestants, providing a structured system for determining the questions and progressively increasing the difficulty.
In his opening remarks, Rotary Club of Stabroek President Delroy Carrington urged the students to approach the competition with confidence while maintaining a strong commitment to reading.
Carrington highlighted the club’s longstanding involvement in literacy and education initiatives in Region Three, including support for the Bagotville Library enhancement project and its Saturday reading programme, which was later expanded to online sessions during the COVID-19 pandemic.
A message from the New Zealand High Commission also underscored the importance of education and literacy in empowering young people and strengthening communities.
The competition received support from the New Zealand High Commission, Nextech Inc, Guyoil and Frandec Travel Services.
The top three competitors received laptops, printers and stationery supplies, while the 10 finalists were presented with Nextech gift vouchers. All participating students received certificates and tokens of appreciation, including Rotary bookmarks.
The New Zealand High Commission was represented by Ann Geer, while Nextech Chief Executive Officer Rehman Majeed attended the event and commended the organisation of the competition.
Majeed also reaffirmed Nextech’s willingness to support schools across Region Three in initiatives aimed at strengthening students’ spelling and literacy skills.
The spelling bee formed part of the Rotary Club of Stabroek’s education and youth-development activities as the organisation marks 20 years of service in Guyana.
The club was chartered on May 16, 2006, and has undertaken initiatives in education, youth empowerment, health, community development, humanitarian service and leadership under Rotary’s “Service Above Self” ethos.
The Region Three spelling bee provided another platform for secondary school students to demonstrate their abilities while promoting reading, vocabulary development and confidence in academic competition