Inaugural House Spell-O-Rama

NYDIW - What do these mixed up letters spell?
How’s about OPELEP?
Spell ‘volcano’ backwards.
Now ‘quickly.’

House colours, banners, chants and cheers filled JC Chalmers Hall as the top twelve spellers, three from each house, battled it out over three rounds to crown the House with the best ability to spell.

Representatives from the Junior, Middle and Senior schools had been selected from earlier elimination heats to determine which three boys would represent their House to compete at each level on the day of the ‘Spell-O-Rama. 

Hosted by Head of Art, Mr Tom Barter, the competition took the style of a lively television game show as the boys were put through their paces. Unlike a traditional Spelling Bee where contestants take it in turns to spell a word, the twelve contestants listened to words, phrases and instructions from a soundtrack to quickly transcribe to a personal whiteboard. No pressure but - speed was of the essence!

There was also plenty of audience participation with extra points for speed spelling on offer, spread between the Houses. Along with mixed up words, backwards spelling and three in a row, the trickiest section, ready to trip up the unwary, was the use of homophones – especially selecting the correct version of there, their and they’re!

After the Middle and Senior School rounds, Cargill were well in the lead and it was all down to the Junior School the following day to determine the outcome. The skill must run in Houses as the youngest members of Cargill also proved they, too, can win assuring Cargill 1st place in the inaugural House Spell-O-Rama!

P.S. If you haven’t worked out the first two, it’s windy and people!