Grappling with words took on a whole new meaning at the first World Dictionary Day celebrations held in the city recently.
Hosted at Nirvana High School, Bharathi Nagar, Kottakuppam, the event was led by P. Stephen Raj, Director, Team Steven Words (T. S. Words) and team.
Students revelled in the opportunity to showcase their facility for words at the Spell Bee and an English Language quiz sessions.
According to organisers, school students these days failed to realise the importance of the ever expanding English vocabulary, or the need to strengthen their knowledge of words, meanings and usage. The Spell Bee and quiz contests provided a good platform to put this skill to test.
Students were selected from Grades V through IX to participate in the Spell Bee event.
Three students from each class were allowed to represent their school at the event, whereas the English Language quiz had two representatives from each school.
As many as 90 contestants from Nirvana, Don Bosco, Bharath Vidyaashram, The Study Le’cole Interationale, Moral, Centurion, SOS Childrens Village and Shankara Vidhalaya participated. While the contestants cracked a few difficult ones, the words that left them nonplussed included ‘consensus’, ‘immediate’ and ‘cadenza’.
“It was a good learning experience for the students, and they also learnt from interacting with one another,” said Mr. Raj.
Students from Don Bosco Mat. Hr. Sec. School, Nirvana High School, and The Study Le’cole Interationale bagged prizes in The Spell Bee contest. The English Language quiz was won by the group from Don Bosco Matriculation Higher Secondary School while The Study Le’cole Interationale came second.
Every student was presented with a book, to help them grow their vocabulary.
A Spell Bee is slated for students belonging to Grades II through V, on November 8 at Bharath Vidyaashram, Sri Lakshmi Narayana Institute of Medical Sciences’ campus, organisers said.