In the age of auto-correct, predictive text and spellcheck, Bhavans International Spell Bee Competition came as a whiff of fresh breeze not only to the spellers in the Middle East but also to students in India who showed tenacity and bravery as they buzzed away to a spellbinding success in the Grand Finale of the Second Edition of Bhavans International Spell Bee. The contest was held in Indian Education School, Kuwait, Private International English School, Abu Dhabi,
Bahrain Indian School, Bahrain, Bhavans GVM, Hinganghat, India and Bhavans Vidya Mandir, Elamakkara, Kochi simultaneously. Spellers from Kuwait, India, Abu Dhabi, Al Ain, Ajman and Bahrain took part in the BISB Grand Finale 2019-20.
The chief guests, Ms. Claire Hayden, CEO, LivinQ8 and Shri Basant Kumar Mohota, Chairman, Hinganghat Kendra, graced the occasion in Kuwait and India respectively.
The programme commenced with the recitation of verses from the Holy Quran followed by the Kuwait National Anthem and the lighting of the lamp by the chief guest Ms. Claire Hayden, in the presence of Mr. N.K Ramachandran Menon, Chairman, Bhavans Middle East, Mr. T. Premkumar, Principal, Indian Education School, and the Vice Principals of IES. After the prayer song by the school choir, Mr. Suresh V. Balakrishan, Vice Principal, Private International English School, Abu Dhabi and GCC Coordinator of BISB, delivered the welcome address. Ms. Sumaiya Asif Sayad, former spell bee champion, and Ms. Lalitha Premkumar, Vice Principal, Kindergarten and Primary Wing, IES, in their felicitation speeches, waxed lyrical about the significance of Bhavans Spell Bee and its impact on aspiring linguists.
Ms. Jaemi Byju, Vice Principal, Middle Wing, IES and Mr. Suresh V. Balakrishnan, Vice Principal, PIES Abu Dhabi were the chief pronouncers of the day, in Kuwait, and India respectively, supported by Mr. E.P Prasad (Dept. of English) and Ms. Muneera Mammikutty (HoD English Primary, IES. The spellers disbanded the utterances of the pronouncers spelling them with rapturous ease, and swept the crowd with their effortless confrontation of words in the phonetics round. The audience and the online viewers were bowled over by the ace spellers, snapping the toughest of words in the nail biting tie breaker round. The contest culminated in an amazing ‘Musical Bee’ by the primary students, giving everybody a sneak peek of the significance of Bhavan’s International Spell Bee. Mr. T. Premkumar, Principal, Indian Education School, Kuwait declared the results of the contest after a nerve- racking finish.
The winners are:
Category 1 – Cute Bees: Dhyuti Manu, Indian Education School, Kuwait (Champion), Arnav Singh, Bahrain Indian School, Bahrain (1st Runner up), Eshanika Praveen, Bhavan’s Vidya Mandir, Elamakkara, India (2nd Runner up), Shrihan Nambiar, Bhavan’s Adarsh Vidyalaya, Kakkanad, India (3rd Runner up), Jasmine Jonwal, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan Vidyashram, Pratapnagar, Jaipur, India and Dhiti Valli, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan’s Public School, Jubilee Hills, India (4th Runners up).
Category 2 – Sweet Bees: Evin Jeston Andrade, Private International English School, Abu Dhabi and Sanjana D., Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan’s Public School, Jubilee Hills, India (Champions), Joel Joshy Joseph, United Indian School, Kuwait and Gouri Parvathy, Wise Indian Academy, Ajman (1st Runners up) and Aditi Narayan, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Calicut, India (2nd Runner up).
Category 3 – Honey Bees: Devika Menon, Bhavan’s Vidya Mandir, Girinagar, India (Champion), Khushi Chittange, Bhavans Girdhardas Mohota Vidyamandir, Hinganghat, India (1st Runner up), Thejas Shetty, Smart Indian School, Kuwait and Tejas Vadakke Paramel, PIES, Abu Dhabi (2nd Runners up) and Parthiv Rajesh, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan’s Public School, Pathanamthitta, India (3rd Runner up).
Category 4 – Bumble Bees: Rhea Pinto, IES, Kuwait (Champion), V.K. Sai Gayathri, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan’s Public School, Jubilee Hills, India (1st Runner up), Sara Sanghavi, Bhavans Girdhardas Mohota Vidyamandir, Hinganghat, India (2nd Runner up), Asher Mohammed, PIES, Abu Dhabi (3rd Runner up) and Christina Mathew, Bhavans Al Saad Indian School, Al Ain (4th Runner up).
The ‘Spell bees’ who were the champions of the day took home $1500, a trophy and a certificate. Each of the 1st runners up took $ 1250, a trophy and a certificate. Each of the 2nd runners up took $ 1000, a trophy and a certificate. Each of the 3rd runners up took $750 and a certificate. Each of the 4th runners up took $500 and a certificate. Finally, 10 contestants were fortunate to win iPads in the lucky draw. The Chief Guest Ms. Claire Hayden, the Chairman of Bhavans Middle East Mr. N.K Ramachandran Menon and Mr. Mahesh Iyer, the Principal of Smart Indian School, Kuwait gave away the prizes in the presence of Mr. T. Premkumar, Principal, IES.
The chief guest, Ms. Claire Hayden addressed the gathering and inspired them with her thought-provoking words. She encouraged everyone to hold steadfast to their dreams, pursue it and strive to bring the best in all of them.
The chief guest was presented a memento by Mr. N.K. Ramachandran Menon, Chairman, Bhavans Middle East, as a token of love and respect from the Bhavans fraternity.
Mr. Sunil Menon, the coordinator of Bhavans International Spell Bee proposed a vote of thanks. With the Indian National Anthem, the curtains were downed on Bhavans International Spell Bee Championship 2019. The emcees for the day were Nakshatra Neeraja Binu of class 7 and Lakshmi Nanda Madhusoodhanan of class 8.
It was not a day of mere play of words at Bhavans, but it was both an enriching and entertaining day leaving behind an everlasting experience in the realm of words.