Olathe spelling bee star ties for fifth in national contest

by Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory | Jun 3, 2013 | Topics

WASHINGTON — Olathe’s spelling phenomenon, Vanya Shivashankar, came close to making history Thursday night. In her third trip to the national spelling bee, 11-year-old Vanya tied for fifth in the nation. She correctly spelled four words in the championship rounds, but...

Local spelling contestants start computer portion of national bee

by Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory | Jun 3, 2013 | Education

WASHINGTON — Kansas City area spellers headed into their first challenge as part of the Scripps National Spelling Bee on Tuesday morning: a computer-based spelling and vocabulary test. Misspellings or incorrect answers on the test don’t get spellers instantly kicked...

Olathe student advances to semifinals at spelling bee

by Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory | May 29, 2013 | Topics

WASHINGTON — After two intense days of competition, three-time Scripps National Spelling Bee competitor Vanya Shivashankar will take the next steps towards the bee’s championship finals. She is from Olathe. On Wednesday, four local spellers — Vanya, Meah N. Wilburn of...

Local spelling contestants start computer portion of national bee

by Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory | May 28, 2013 | Education

WASHINGTON — Kansas City area spellers headed into their first challenge as part of the Scripps National Spelling Bee on Tuesday morning: a computer-based spelling and vocabulary test. Misspellings or incorrect answers on the test don’t get spellers instantly kicked...

Four KC-area kids will face a tougher spell at national bee

by Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory | May 28, 2013 | Education

WASHINGTON — Four Kansas City-area students are set to use their knowledge of words — and their meanings — this week at the 86th annual Scripps National Spelling Bee. Three first-time competitors — Meah N. Wilburn, Sterling A. Hollond and Evan Filer — and bee veteran...