YMCA of Greater St. Petersburg to host annual spelling bee

On Wednesday, July 24 from 5:30PM to 8:00PM, the YMCA of Greater St. Petersburg will host its annual Spelling Bee Finals at YMCA at Lealman Exchange, located at 5175 45th St. North in St. Petersburg.

During the summer, a student’s achievement score declines on average by one month’s worth of school-year learning. The YMCA’s renowned academic curriculum has culminated into a community-wide spelling bee, engaging nearly 600 youth, ages kindergarten through 8th grade. Branch bees held July 11 and 12 determined 70 finalists to compete in the YMCA Spelling Bee Finals on July 24.

The YMCA Spelling Bee is important because, quite simply, spelling helps reading. Studies show that if a student is not reading at grade level by 3rd grade they become four times more likely to drop out of high school. Additionally, spelling bees are a fun way for students to gain public speaking experience, develop a sense of sportsmanship skills and mitigate summer learning loss.

The YMCA of Greater St. Petersburg would like to thank Jabil, Raymond James & Associates and the Rays Baseball Foundation for sponsoring the 2019 Spelling Bee. Judges for this year’s event include Dr. Tanika Tomalin, Deputy Mayor/City Administrator of the City of St. Petersburg; Dr. Michael Grego, Superintendent of Pinellas County Schools; Dr. Marcie Biddleman, CEO for the Juvenile Welfare Board of Pinellas County and more.

For more information about the event visit: www.stpeteymca.org/spellingbee/

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