BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – RHEYANA DAVIS who represented St. Kitts at the Haliborange Spelling Bee Championship, was presented with her EC$5 000 cheque on Friday (Nov. 25), for emerging the winner of the competition.
The nine-year-old defeated contestants from seven other islands in the RAMS/Rotary Club of Liamuiga sponsored competition that was held on November 12, spelling 18 out of her 20 words correctly.
Shirley Julius, RAMS representative, during the handover encouraged Davis to continue to strive for the best not only in her spelling but in every other area of her academics.
When asked what she plans to do with the financial reward, Davis wasted no time in stating that she is planning to save some for college.
She then explained that she is also planning to use some of it to host a party for her upcoming birthday.
Davis’ mother, Denise Davis, said that it was pure excitement for her when her daughter won the competition.
She elucidated that she had to make sacrifices to accommodate her daughter’s practice sessions, noting that she [Denise] is currently pursuing her degree which she had to put on hold in order to help her daughter get ready for the competition.
Janelle Williams, Davis’ teacher, explained that preparing Davis for the competition was a lot of work. She said that they spent a great deal of time practising.
“It was a lot of work, after school, evenings, weekends – plenty work! Knowing that she won brings a great feeling and I am proud of her,” she said.
Julius said that Davis winning the competition was a reward for RAMS as they too put in a lot of hard work.
“It was a reward for us, because it was the first time that we hosted the competition and we put in a lot of work, so it was a very rewarding experience and worthwhile for us as a company,” she explained.
In an effort to improve the literacy skills in Primary Schools across the Region, the Rotary Club of Liamuiga, in collaboration with Haliborange/Seven Seas, represented in the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis by Ram’s Trading Limited, hosted the Haliborange RCL Regional Spelling Bee Competition.
The competition is in its fourth year, with St. Kitts being represented for the second time. Each island had a local competition with the winner being the one who represented their respective island in the regional competition.
