Thejatshuu Rutsa of Living Tree School wins the 11th Nagaland Spelling Bee Championship in Kohima
Our Correspondents
KOHIMA — Thejatshuu Rutsa, a Class 9 student of Living Tree School, Kohima, emerged as the champion of the 11th Nagaland Spelling Bee Championship, held on the theme ‘The Learning Edge’ at State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT), Kohima, on Wednesday.
The second place was won by Thejaneizo Linyu, a Class 9 student of Khedi Baptist Higher Secondary School, Kohima, while Carolene Lotha, a Class 9 student of Christian Higher Secondary School, secured the third position. Lenino Kaimo, a Class 8 student of St. Paul School, Phesama, finished fourth.
The winner received a cash prize of INR 80,000, while the second-place winner received INR 60,000, the third-place winner INR 40,000 and the fourth-place winner INR 20,000.
The quarter-finalists, namely Shuzuni Catherine Chario (Class 9) of Model Higher Secondary School, Kellika Zhimo (Class 8) of Grace Academy, Thanggunhao Thomsong (Class 9) of Grace Academy and Mharoni Yanthan (Class 8) of Stella Higher Secondary School, also received INR 10,000 each.
The Young Speller Prize was won by 12-year-old Seneino Laura, a Class 6 student of St. Paul School, Phesama, who received a cash prize of INR 10,000.
The Promising Speller Prize was awarded to Thejasevono Meyase, a Class 6 student of PM SHRI GMS, New Ministers' Hill, who also received INR 10,000.
All the awardees also received citations and trophies.
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During the closing programme, Daniel Thong, Vice Principal of SCERT, said the spelling bee championship had come a long way, with considerable improvements over the years.
He appreciated the organisers for their hard work and dedication to society through education and acknowledged the public-private partnership between SCERT and the organisers.
Thong also expressed hope for greater participation from government schools across the state in the coming editions.
The championship was organised by Fountain Club in collaboration with SCERT.
Earlier, Advisor to SCERT Achumbemo Kikon attended the inaugural event as the bee guest on October 20.
In his address, Kikon stressed the importance of cultivating reading habits and observed that today's generation had largely stopped reading books.
He said that instead of reading the complete works written by great minds, people increasingly turned to search engines and social media platforms for information. However, he maintained that reading entire books was important.
Kikon further stated that the kind of books a person reads influences their decision-making and future course of action. He urged students to consciously choose the content and books they read.
He said the spelling bee had struggled for two centuries in American society before spreading to African and Asian nations, eventually reaching Nagaland in 2012, where it has been managed by Fountain Club.
Kikon said SCERT intended to ensure that students acquired comprehensive modern knowledge by linking the past and present while looking towards the future.
He added that the department endeavoured to keep textbooks and research in sync with changing times and developing trends while ensuring quality content and textbooks.
He also urged the department to include the spelling bee as one of its core activities and incorporate it into the budget.