Seven students from White Bear Education Complex represented their school at Saskatchewan's first-ever First Nations Spelling Bee Friday, April 8 in North Battleford. Mystique Bigstone, Katelyn Desjarlais, Taya Lavallee, Delilah Littlechief, Mercedez Littlechief, Isaiah McMann-Ross and River Whitebear earned their places on Team Whitebear after competing with their fellow pupils to represent their school at the competition.
Over 130 students from 21 Saskatchewan First Nations communities gathered at North Battleford's Don Ross Centre for the inaugural event. WBEC Grade Three teacher Saldina Mujkic-who organized WBEC's participation-says: “The biggest part of this event is that it's an academic event. There are lots of athletic events for students to participate in, but the spelling bee is an excellent opportunity for the kids to use and showcase their academics.”
“We had a spelling bee at White Bear and since November, we've had contest practices for the provincial spelling bee,” adds Mujkic. “We could send a maximum of three students per category-primary, junior and intermediate.”
“The kids all did a great job, especially since they travelled seven hours each way to get there. Isaiah (McMann-Ross) brought home the second-place trophy, Mercedez (Littlechief) placed fourth, Katelyn (Desjarlais) came fifth, and Mystique (Bigstone) placed eighth.”
“I'm proud of them all and how they represented our school,” says Mujkic. “I really want people to know that it's not just a simple spelling bee. They had to memorize 400 words-some of which were ridiciously difficult. Then they had to stand up on stage, speak into a microphone, and spell out loud in front of a lot of people. It took a lot of time and effort from them.”
Eight-year-old Isaiah McMann-Ross, who brought home the second-place trophy-and narrowly missed earning first-place- says, “It was good. I was nervous, but it was exciting, too.”
Fourth-place winner Mercedez Littlechief, 8, says: “It was fun and some of my family was there watching me and my dad came from Winnipeg to see me.”
Mystique Bigstone, 12-who placed eighth in her category-agrees. “It was pretty fun but it was kind of scary, too. But it was more fun than scary and it was a great experience.”
“I was very anxious,” says Katelyn Desjarlais, 11. “It was a good experience, but it was scary, too. I was kind of shaking on the stage. We were all sitting in four rows of chairs. Once I walked up to the microphone and started spelling a few times, it was more relaxing. I came in fifth-place.”
River Whitebear, 12, said he was “pretty focused” during the competition. “I tried to concentrate on spelling and not get too nervous.”
“I was nervous, excited, happy and sad,” says 10-year-old Taya Lavallee. “But I worked really hard and I'm glad I went. We've been working since December to memorize those words.”
Delilah Littlechief, 11, agrees. “It was like history,” she says. “We had a seven-hour van ride both ways and I would go again.”
“I'm very proud of them all,” says Mujkic. “And the Bear Claw Casino was a huge help. They allowed us to fundraise there and our (educational assistant) Angela McArthur made bannock for us to sell there. Without them, we couldn't have made this trip.”
“We're definitely going back-and this time, we're going for gold.”
