Spellers Honored by District
By John Earp
At the March 9th meeting of the Jal Board of Education, Elijah Earp was recognized for his advancement to the State Spelling Bee as one of the top twenty-five spellers in the state. Earp will travel to the New Mexico State Spelling Bee in Albuquerque at the Smith Brasher Auditorium on the campus of Central New Mexico Community College. Earp is hopeful that he will do well at the state bee, even though he admits he has not studied much at all for the Jal Junior High, Lea County and the online spelling bee he has done well enough in to move on to the next level. He has always been a good reader, according to his parents, John and Jaime Earp. All the Earp kids have had a strong emphasis on reading in their upbringing, with 15 minutes per day of reading in the Bible and 15 minutes per day of reading an educational book of their choice (such as an encyclopedia) being required of them before they can watch TV or play video games or play outside.
Kiari Ehrenfelt, the winner of the Jal Elementary Spelling Bee this year, finished 6th place in the Lea County Spelling Bee, and was also given a Spelling Bee Champion Award by the Jal School District.