EIGHTH-GRADER SPELLS HIS WAY TO WASHINGTON, D.C.Byline: Troy Anderson Daily News Staff Writer Fourteen-year-old North Hollywood resident Michael Yeranosian outspelled 31 students to get to the 72nd annual 1999 Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee spelling bee n. A contest in which competitors are eliminated as they fail to spell a given word correctly. Also called spelldown. Noun 1. in Washington, D.C. Now only 249 other spellers and 460,000 words stand between Michael and the championship. ``I'm pretty excited and kind of nervous,'' said the eighth-grade student at AGBU Manoogian-Demirdjian School AGBU Manoogian-Demirdjian School is an Armenian-American private school located in Winnetka, Los Angeles, California, USA. It is financed and run by the Armenian General Benevolent Union. With 947 students, it is the largest Armenian private school in the Greater Los Angeles area. in Canoga Park. ``I don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. who I'm going to be up against. I'm hoping for the best.'' But with what he describes as his photographic memory, he expects to do well in the national spelling bee June 2 and June 3. Yeranosian was named the Daily News Regional Spelling Bee champion in March. After 13 rounds, he spelled ``frankincense'' and then ``privileges'' to beat Raymond Ople of Holy Family Elementary School Holy Family Elementary School is a Catholic School within the Archdiocese of Louisville. • • [ in Glendale. But the competition is about to become significantly stronger in Washington, D.C., where he will compete with other regional spelling bee champions. ``We believe he'll be able to accomplish his mission there,'' said his father, Grigor Yeranosian, a construction superintendent. ``It's not going to be an easy task. He's a very smart kid, but he's being a little lazy right now. ``We're trying to convince him that he has to study, but it's not easy to study when you have to know 460,000 words.'' In preparation for the spelling bee, Michael said he's studying words he's been faced with in past spelling bees. ``I've gotten kind of lazy,'' he admitted. ``I'm just happy I've gotten this far.'' Michael's mother said he has worked hard. ``I'm very proud of him,'' said Elizabeth Yeranosian, a mortgage banking executive. ``He's worked very hard. I hope he can do his best at this contest. We're going to have a pleasant, enjoyable experience regardless of the outcome.'' The family plans to go on tours of the capital, and Michael will play the piano in a talent show, performing the song ``Sabre Dance'' by Aram Khachaturian Noun 1. Aram Khachaturian - Russian composer (born in Armenia) whose works are romantic and reflect his interest in folk music (1903-1978) Aram Ilich Khachaturian, Khachaturian . In his spare time, Michael enjoys roller hockey roller hockey n. Hockey played on a hard surface in which two opposing teams of roller skaters, using curved sticks, try to drive a ball into the opponents' goal. and ice hockey ice hockey: see hockey, ice. ice hockey Game played on an ice rink by two teams of six players on skates. The object is to drive a puck (a small, hard rubber disk) into the opponents' goal with a hockey stick, thus scoring one point. and is interested in aviation. He likes to play with flight simulator programs on his computer. He has studied piano for the past four years. A consistent straight-A student, Michael was the valedictorian at his elementary school graduation. He is a two-time participant in the Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University, mainly at Baltimore, Md. Johns Hopkins in 1867 had a group of his associates incorporated as the trustees of a university and a hospital, endowing each with $3.5 million. Daniel C. Talent Identification program. As a future career, he plans to go into a computer field. The spelling bee will take place at the Grand Hyatt Washington. The Louisville Courier-Journal started the event with nine contestants in 1925. The word ``bee'' refers to a community social gathering at which friends and neighbors join in a single activity like sewing, quilting quilting, form of needlework, almost always created by women, most of them anonymous, in which two layers of fabric on either side of an interlining (batting) are sewn together, usually with a pattern of back or running (quilting) stitches that hold the layers or barn raising to help a person or family. The earliest known example in print is spinning bee in 1769. Spelling bee is a term that first appeared in print in 1875. CAPTION(S): Photo Photo: Michael Yeranosian Will compete in national spelling bee |
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