SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Two Grade 6 students will be competing in an international French spelling competition in Montreal next month.
Maxim Boucher, 11, is one of two students going to Montreal in May for the Dictee P.G.L. Grand International Finale, a French spelling competition. - Danielle Sachs/NNSL photo |
Maxim Boucher, 11, of Ecole Allain St. Cyr and Wilson Elliot, 12, of St. Joseph School are going to the Dictee P.G.L. Grand International Finale in Montreal in May.
The pair advanced from the regional finals held at St. Joseph School.
Elliot also won a trip to the finals last year when he was in Grade 5.
For Boucher, this will be his first time in Montreal and he's really looking forward to exploring the city and some of the museums. Also, Boucher's best friend moved to Ottawa, so there's a chance he might be able to visit him during his trip to Montreal.
The dictee isn't like a standard spelling bee. Whole paragraphs are read out loud and competitors have to write them down.
Boucher is in a full French program and Elliot is in French immersion.
"They read a whole paragraph sentence by sentence, I think three times," said Boucher.
The dictee is organized by the Paul Gerin-Lajoie Foundation and is open to students from kindergarten to Grade 8.
Only 100 students participate in the Montreal competition and participants are encouraged to get family and friends to sponsor them for each word they spell correctly.
Any amount raised is split evenly between the school and the foundation. The foundation then uses the money for education programs in developing nations.
"This year I'm hoping to win," said Elliot. "Last year I only made eight mistakes."
Boucher also hopes he can win, but he said it's not the end of the world if he doesn't.
"Right now I just study words. The hardest part of the dictee is the words you don't know because you've never seen them," said Boucher. "It's fun to just do it and see how well you do."
Genevieve Charron, assistant principal at St. Joseph School, said it's always interesting to have a competition that focuses on academic achievement.
"Sports and arts are important too, but this is a big deal and the competition has been around for a while," Charron said.
