8th Grade Spelling Bee

Based on a preliminary spelling test in his junior high, Connor qualified for the campus spelling bee which was held in mid-December. Prior to the Bee, he studied a list of 500 words and he knew how to spell them all. But as usual, the judges tend to call words that aren't on the list after several rounds, and that's when the participants start dropping like flies. Or should I say, bees? (ha ha)

Jeff and I attended the spelling bee and enjoyed watching Connor participate. He had some nerves but he did great. He spelled words like obstacles, aspersions, looming, violate, requirement, attainment, and assertion before he made it to the 8th round. His final and disqualifying word in the 8th round was "prolusory" which I had to look up in order to know what it was or even how to spell it myself. One measly little word and then he was out. (That was an inside joke; ask Connor about it!)

As 8th grade is the final year of eligibility for students, we were so proud to witness Connor's participation in the spelling bee. And for the record, even spell check thinks the word "prolusory" is spelled wrong, and the online dictionary states that this adjective is rarely used. I tend to think, however, that it may become more of a household word for us, now that it has infamously ended Connor's spelling career. For his part, Connor was just happy to get out of class for an hour or two, and then it was back to English where he could continue working on his prolusory writing assignment about Huck Finn. :-)