CINCINNATI, March 28, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Five teams of
students with a passion for spelling and reading and a penchant for
video storytelling are making plans for an expenses-paid trip to
Washington, D.C., as the Finalists
of the 2017 Spellebrity Video Contest.
The Finalists of the competition, which was created by the
Scripps National Spelling Bee and its presenting sponsor, Kindle,
include teams in Chandler,
Arizona; Valencia,
California; Lawrence,
Kansas; Oneonta, New York;
and Cedar Park, Texas.
After three weeks of voting by the public, thousands of fans
chose their favorites from 10 Semifinalists. The winning teams will
join the festivities as spectators of Bee Week, May 29-June 2, in National Harbor, Maryland.
Teams of kids from across the country produced creative videos
that spell out how to kindle the love of reading. This is the
second year for the contest, which timed up with National Reading
Month in March.
"The entries for this year were once again a delight," said
Paige Kimble, executive director of
the Scripps National Spelling Bee. "Our winners put so much thought
into their storylines and characters, and some even included makeup
and costumes. We see this contest as another way to recognize the
power of reading to improve lives. We appreciate the effort
and so do the thousands of fans who voted to give these students an
opportunity to experience all that is memorable and inspiring about
Bee Week."
Finalists:
- Bigham Yago |
Valencia, California | Rio Norte
Junior High, Tesoro del Valle Elementary
- Bryn with a Bee | Lawrence,
Kansas | Southwest Middle School
- Kindle Cousins | Oneonta, New
York; Orem, Utah;
Salt Lake City, Utah | Evergreen
Junior High, Highland Park Elementary, Oneonta Middle School,
Windsor Elementary
- Team Champion | Chandler, Arizona | Champion Chandler Charter School, Kyrene Traditional
Academy
- The Fab Four | Cedar Park,
Texas | Westside Elementary School
Prizes:
- The Finalist teams win:
- Economy airfare or train fare for each team member and a
parent/guardian
- One standard hotel room for five nights at the Gaylord National
Resort and Convention Center
- $400 gift card for travel and
meal expenses
- Complimentary tickets for each team member and parent/guardian
for the Memorial Day picnic at
Nationals Park, a Bee-organized tour of Washington, D.C., and the Awards Banquet
- Each member of the Semifinalist teams (10) will receive a
Kindle Paperwhite.
Participants in the Scripps National Spelling Bee will have the
chance to view and vote on these five videos during the 2017 Bee
Week to select the Champion video. For the winning team, each
member will receive $1,000 cash and a
Spellebrity trophy.
Key dates:
May 30 –
Finalist teams attend Spellebrity Video Contest Premiere along with
the participants of the 2017 National Finals.
May 30 – June
1 – Finalist teams can attend all rounds of the Scripps
National Spelling Bee.
June 1 – The champion video is
announced just before prime-time Finals are broadcast on ESPN.
The Scripps National Spelling Bee, the nation's largest and
longest-running educational program, and Kindle are working to
elevate the belief that reading, spelling and vocabulary are
critically important to a child's lifelong achievement. With the
Spellebrity Video Contest, students used their imaginations to
combine spelling and reading into a fun and inspiring message.
About the Scripps National Spelling Bee:
The Scripps
National Spelling Bee is the nation's largest and longest-running
educational program. The purpose of the Scripps National Spelling
Bee is to help students improve their spelling, increase their
vocabularies, learn concepts and develop correct English usage that
will help them all of their lives. Visit spellingbee.com for more
information about the Scripps National Spelling Bee, which is
administered on a not-for-profit basis by The E.W. Scripps
Company.
About Scripps:
The E.W. Scripps Company (NYSE: SSP)
serves audiences and businesses through a growing portfolio of
television, radio and digital media brands. Scripps is one of the
nation's largest independent TV station owners, with 33 television
stations in 24 markets and a reach of nearly one in five U.S.
households. It also owns 34 radio stations in eight markets.
Scripps also runs an expanding collection of local and national
digital journalism and information businesses, including satire and
humor video and web brand Cracked, podcast industry leader Midroll
Media and over-the-top video news service Newsy. Scripps also
produces television shows including "The List" and "The Now" and
runs an award-winning investigative reporting newsroom in
Washington, D.C. Founded in 1878,
Scripps has held for decades to the motto, "Give light and the
people will find their own way."
About Amazon:
Amazon is guided by four principles:
customer obsession rather than competitor focus, passion for
invention, commitment to operational excellence, and long-term
thinking. Customer reviews, 1-Click shopping, personalized
recommendations, Prime, Fulfillment by Amazon, AWS, Kindle Direct
Publishing, Kindle, Fire tablets, Fire TV, Amazon Echo, and Alexa
are some of the products and services pioneered by Amazon. For more
information, visit www.amazon.com/about.
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SOURCE The E.W. Scripps Company