ANDERSON, Ind. — Joseph Kirkpatrick heard the word, and without so much as a breath, he spelled fast. “E-I-D-E-R-D-O-W-N. Eiderdown.”
With that, Joseph, a fifth-grader at 10th Street Elementary School in Anderson, won The Herald Bulletin Spelling Bee on Wednesday at City Hall Auditorium, beating out 31 other area students. He advances to the 2010 Scripps National Spelling Bee finals in Washington, D.C., in June.
Joseph said after his victory that he’d felt confident, even though the competition through 15 rounds over two hours was tense. He was overcome with emotion afterward, his words shaky but sure.
“One of my strategies I’ve been using through all the bees I’ve been in so far is if I’m the last person up, when I get a word and I know it, I always tell myself you have to spell it first,” he said.
During the competition, Joseph wasn’t always as quick as he was on the final word. When he needed to, he would begin to spell the word, then pause and trace letters on his leg to visually spell out the word before speaking the letters. “I write with my finger,” he said.
Joseph’s parents, Andrea and Shane, said Joseph always seemed to have a leg up when it came to spelling.
“Actually, it’s all perfectly natural,” Andrea said of Joseph’s talent. Shane said teachers at 10th Street who gave Joseph novels to read pulled out words from the books that could help build his spelling skills and vocabulary.
“They have excellent teachers at 10th Street,” Andrea said.
But Joseph’s twin sister, Elli, also could take some of the credit.
In the later rounds when Joseph was asked to spell “shrapnel,” she said she knew he would get it right. After all, that was one of the words that she had quizzed him on. “I helped him learn that,” Elli said.
Herald Bulletin publisher and spelling bee announcer Henry Bird said the event was an opportunity to “showcase the talents of the brightest students in our area.”
As the event progressed, Bird said the students made an impressive showing. Through four rounds, half were still in the competition. “I will tell you, you guys are absolutely awesome,” Bird said.
Along with the honor of traveling to Washington to represent the area in the national bee, Joseph also received a Merriam Webster Third New International Dictionary and a one-year subscription to the Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
Second-place winner Sterling Bourke of St. Ambrose School and third-place winner Paige Hughes of Mount Vernon Intermediate also each were awarded a one-year subscription to the Encyclopedia Britannica Online and a $20 Amazon.com gift card.
The winners
First place: Joseph Kirkpatrick, 10th Street Elementary. He wins a trip for two to compete in the 2010 Scripps National Spelling Bee finals in Washington, June 2-4.
Second place: Sterling Bourke, St. Ambrose School
Third place: Paige Hughes, Mount Vernon Intermediate
The winning word
Eiderdown: n. The down of the eider (a large sea duck) used for stuffing pillows and quilts.
Contact Dave Stafford: 648-4250, dave.stafford@heraldbulletin.com
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