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Area students are gearing up for the Marietta Times Regional Spelling Bee, which will be held at the Mid-Ohio Valley Players Theater this year.
The bee will be live streamed through MOVP's Facebook page for family members to watch.
The regional bee brings together winners from each participating school to see who will qualify for the Scripps National Spelling Bee. The event is scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday at the theater.
George Wells, Switzerland of Ohio Local School District spelling bee coordinator and president of the MOVP Theater, said he helps coordinate the regional bee.
"In the past, district coordinators have helped with the regional bee," he said, noting he's assisted with the competition for about 17 years.
"This year, there are 36 kids that qualified," Wells said.
In the past, the regional bee was held in the Marietta school district, but moved venues this year. Wells said the theater was opened this year for the event.
"We have to go through guidelines," he explained. "We are now allowed to have 25 percent capacity, but we're only doing 18 kids at a time."
There will be two rounds with 18 students each and the top four from each round will compete in the third round to find the final places. The winner will go on to the national bee, Wells said.
He said the participants will be kept at their seats and will wear face shields for protection. Mics will be set at different heights so participants will not have to adjust them.
"There will be one parent per student to come into the theater to keep it down to the size we're allowed," Wells said.
Donna Murphy, intervention specialist and bee coordinator for Frontier Middle School, said her school's participation in the bee wasn't affected by COVID.
"We've been going (in-person) the whole time," Murphy said. "We've only missed about two weeks this year."
She said the event went "pretty smoothly," with 12 participants, which is normal for the school.
Kathryn Nguyen, 11, of Marietta, won the school spelling bee at St. John Catholic in Churchtown. As a fifth-grader, this was her first year to participate.
"It seemed kind of fun," she said.
Nguyen said she studies "sometimes every night" with her parents, as does Kayla Schwendeman, 11, and Adalyn Eichmiller, 11, both of Watertown, who go to St. Mary's Catholic.
Schwendeman said she signed up to participate because she "thought it would be cool to go to regionals."
She has been working to get as much study in as possible before Friday.
"I've studied probably about every other day for the last week," she remarked, noting she will probably enter the spelling bee again next year.
This is the second year for Eichmiller.
"Last year, I was second, but I was in fourth grade, so I couldn't go (to regionals)," she said.
Michele Newbanks can be reached at
mnewbanks@mariettatimes.com.