The last word; DeSilva spells words correctly, but test scores end his journey
Published 11:12 am Thursday, May 29, 2014
Shane DeSilva’s spelling journey has come to an end — at least for this year.
The Pacelli Catholic Schools eighth-grader spelled all his words correctly during the Scripps Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C., but he will not be competing in the final round.
Pacelli eighth-grader Shane DeSilva is taking his spelling game on the road when he competes in the Scripps National Spelling Bee on May 27 in Washington, D.C. Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com
The Scripps Spelling Bee only takes 50 students on to the final round, and after the first three rounds there were still about 220 students. Cuts were made from the scores of a written test that the students took earlier in the week. Shane was not in the top 50 test scores, and was cut from the Bee Wednesday.
Regardless, Pacelli school members are still excited.
“Oh my goodness, yesterday was just unreal,” Assistant Principal Laura Marreel said.
While Shane competed in three main rounds on Wednesday, Marreel said many teachers followed his Twitter feed on their smart-boards, and the students were very excited.
Marreel said she could hear students shouting and screaming as Shane spelled one of his words correctly.
“It was an entire Shane day here at the middle and high school,” Marreel said.
The final round airs on ESPN Thursday evening. Shane is expected to be back in school by Monday.
Shane won the Minnesota Spelling Bee in Rochester on Feb. 25 to reach the Scripps National Spelling Bee by spelling “polymythy,” which Merriam-Webster defines as “the inclusion of many or several stories or plots in one narrative or dramatic work.”
