by Dennis Dalman
Standing at the podium on stage, Emmaline Bushman, an eighth-grader at St. John’s Prep School, very carefully and distinctly spoke each letter: H-O-N-O-R-A-R-I-U-M. Then she spoke the word she had just spelled: “honorarium.”
“That is correct,” said the judge.
And just then a loud burst of applause in the auditorium welcomed Bushman as the first-place winner of the Central Minnesota Regional Spelling Bee. Her stunning win now makes her eligible to compete soon in the Scripps National Spelling Bee.
(“Honorarium” is a word that means “a payment given in recognition of a special service or achievement.”)
It was Bushman’s second first-place spelling bee win. Two years ago, as a sixth-grader, she was the “bee” champion in the St. John’s Prep School Bee and then went on to compete in that year’s regional competition.
Bushman, a St. Cloud resident, is the daughter of Catherine and Brendon Bushman.
Bushman’s correct spelling of “honorarium” happened Feb. 11 at the Ritsche Auditorium on the campus of St. Cloud State University. The annual event is hosted by Resource Training & Solutions, based in Sartell. In Ritsche Auditorium, Bushman and almost 40 other young students competed in the Regional Central Minnesota Spelling Bee. During 11 rounds, they spelled (in some cases misspelled) a total of 165 words.
The second-place winner is Thisbe Truax, a sixth-grader at St. Cloud’s South Junior High School; and third-place honors were earned by Ingrid Johnson, a seventh-grader at Sartell Middle School.
There are nine regional spelling bee competitions among students in grades 5-8 in Minnesota. That means the first-place winners of each of those regions, including Bushman, will compete with student winners from other states in the Scripps National Spelling Bee May 27-29 in National Harbor, Md., which is right next to Washington, D.C. There will be 245 students competing in that spelling event, including from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Praise for Bushman
On the St. John’s Prep School’s website, Bushman’s teachers were quick to praise her and her first-place achievement.
Emmaline’s current middle school language arts teacher, Jeff Kirchoff, posted he admires Bushman’s dedication and perseverance. This is Emmaline’s second time competing at the Resource and Training Solutions regional spelling bee.
“Emmaline is one of the most determined individuals I know,” Kirchoff posted. “Her preparation for every activity she pursues – whether the spelling bee, Knowledge Bowl or a class assignment – is second to none. More importantly, though, she remains a genuinely humble individual who is always quick to thank people for their time and energy.”
Her former language-arts teacher Carlee Biechler said Emmaline enjoys the camaraderie she shares with others during spelling bees and that she is always quick to congratulate the other contestants.
“Emmaline showed her hard work and dedication during the regional spelling bee,” Biechler said. “We are so proud of her and cannot wait to watch her represent St. John’s Prep at the National Spelling Bee. Congratulations and good luck, Emmaline!”
Scripps Bee
The Scripps National Spelling Bee was founded in 1925 as a consolidation of numerous local spelling bees organized by “The Courier-Journal” newspaper in Louisville, Ken. Its first winner was a Kentucky student, Frank Neuhauser, who spelled correctly the word “gladiolus” (a type of flower) to become the champ.
The E.W. Scripps Co. acquired the rights to the event in 1941.
The national spelling bee has been held every year except for 1943–1945 due to World War II and 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The national competition takes place in the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in National Harbor, Md., just outside Washington, D.C.
The national competition is open for students in grades 5-8 who have not yet reached their 15th birthday and who have not previously won in the national spelling bee.
The grand prizes for the national champion is $50,000, a cup trophy, a $2,500 savings bond, a reference library from Merriam-Webster, $400 in reference works and a lifetime membership to Britannica Encyclopedia online.
All participants receive Webster’s third new international unabridged dictionary on CD-ROM.
The mission of the event is not just to encourage children to spell correctly but also to enlarge their vocabularies and to widen their knowledge of the English language.
Last year’s champ
Last year, the Bee champion was Bruhat Soma of St. Petersburg, Fla. whose winning word was “abseil.” That word (pronounced “ahb-sale) is a synonym for “rappelling” – that is, someone descending by using a rope down the face of a steep rock, cliff or building.
Emmaline Bushman (left), a St. John’s Prep eighth-grader, earned first-place honors at the Central Minnesota Regional Spelling Bee. The second-place winner is Thisbe Truax, a sixth-grader at St. Cloud’s South Junior High School; third place went to Ingrid Johnson, a seventh-grader at Sartell Middle School.
