A panel of judges reviewed the long list of submitted videos and narrowed it down to the top 10 Semifinalist videos. Voting is open today through March 24 at Spellebrity.com for the public to pick favorite videos. The top five vote-getting teams will win an expenses-paid trip to the 2017 Scripps National Spelling Bee this May 30-June 1, near Washington, D.C.
"Our first Spellebrity Video Contest was such a success, we wanted to bring it back to give even more children the opportunity to experience the wonder of Bee Week," said Paige Kimble, executive director of the Scripps National Spelling Bee. "These young video producers become instant spellebrities as our champion spellers celebrate their video storytelling on a topic they all share in common — their love of reading."
The contest is part of the ongoing relationship between the Scripps National Spelling Bee, the nation's largest and longest-running educational program, and Kindle. Both brands 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 use their imagination to combine spelling and reading into a fun and inspiring message.
The Semifinalist videos range from live action to stop motion animation. Each one inspires viewers to kindle a love of reading through unique storytelling methods and mediums. Watch all ten videos to see what a pronouncer audition might entail, learn how to cure "Reader's Fever," and discover the love of reading with the help of two sisters.
All 10 semifinalist videos and online voting are available on Spellebrity.com. Contest rules limited video teams to no more than four members; the videos had a limit of less than five minutes; and they had to include at least three words that might be important to know for a spelling bee.
Voting guidelines:
- Go to Spellebrity.com to watch the videos and vote.
- Every voter has one vote.
- The voting window is 10 a.m. EDT March 1 through 11:59 p.m. EDT March 24.
- Voters must be in the U.S.
- Voters must be at least 13 years old.
Semifinalists:
- 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 School; Highland Park Elementary; Oneonta Middle School; Windsor Elementary
- Reader's Fever | Delta Junction, Alaska | Whitestone Farms Training Center
- Skyfire Studio | Northfield, Minnesota | Northfield Middle School; Prairie Creek Community School
- Spellebrity Showbuzz | Lufkin, Texas | Home School
- Team Champion | Chandler, Arizona | Champion Chandler Charter School
- Team Blackwell | West Palm Beach, Florida | Bak Middle School of the Arts
- The Fab Four | Cedar Park, Texas | Westside Elementary School
- The Innovators | Branchburg, New Jersey | Branchburg Central Middle School
The five videos that receive the most votes will advance to the National Finals where participants in the Scripps National Spelling Bee will vote for the best video. The Champion video will be announced during the 2017 Bee Week.
Prizes:
- Each member of the Semifinalist teams (10) will receive a Kindle Paperwhite.
- Each member of the Finalist teams (5), as selected by popular vote, will receive an expenses-paid trip to the 2017 Scripps National Spelling Bee:
- Economy airfare or train fare for each team member and a parent/guardian
- One standard hotel room 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, a Bee-organized tour of Washington, D.C., and the Awards Banquet
- Each member of the Champion team (1) will receive:
- $1,000 cash award
- Trophy
Key dates:
March 1-24 – Public votes on
Spellebrity.com for favorite Semifinalist video
March 31 – Announcement of five Finalist videos at
Spellebrity.com
May 31-June 1 – Finalist videos presented and voted on during Bee Week
June 1 – Champion video announced
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.
To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/vote-for-your-favorite-spellebrity-video-top-five-teams-win-trip-to-washington-dc-300416003.html
SOURCE The E.W. Scripps Company
| Contact: |
| The E.W. Scripps Company
Scripps National Spelling Bee For questions or general inquiries: 513-977-3040, Spellingbee.com/contact, Twitter.com/ScrippsBee, For media inquiries only: Valerie Miller, Manager, External Communications, 513-545-6474 Email Contact Web: http://www.scripps.com |