GOOD SPELL COMES TO AN END FOR FIRST-TIME CONTESTANT.Byline: Lisa Friedman Washington Bureau In the end, even ``widdershins'' couldn't help Sean Sabino. The 13-year-old master speller spell·er n. 1. One who spells words: students who are good spellers. 2. An elementary textbook containing exercises that teach spelling. Noun 1. from Valencia was eliminated Wednesday before the third round of the 77th Annual Scripps 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., despite giving a letter-perfect spelling of widdershins wid·der·shins or with·er·shins adv. In a contrary or counterclockwise direction: "The coracle whirled round, clockwise, then widdershins" Anthony Bailey. (meaning ``counterclockwise'') in the oral competition. ``It happens after any disappointment; you've got to learn from it. There are so many opportunities out there,'' said Sean, an eighth-grader at Pinecrest School in Woodland Hills, sitting with his parents after the announcement that he would not be among the 94 spellers moving on to the next round. ``It's awesome to come here in the first place.'' Sean, a first-time competitor, was among 265 spellers from across the country who traveled to Washington, D.C., for the national spelling bee competition that began Tuesday. By late afternoon Wednesday, 46 spellers remained. Championship rounds will take place today before a national television audience. Among the contenders will be Kendra Y. Yoshinaga of Thousand Oaks Thousand Oaks, residential city (1990 pop. 104,352), Ventura co., S Calif., in a farm area; inc. 1964. Avocados, citrus, vegetables, strawberries, and nursery products are grown. , a home-schooled fourth-grader who is ranked No. 2 among reading program students in North America North America, third largest continent (1990 est. pop. 365,000,000), c.9,400,000 sq mi (24,346,000 sq km), the northern of the two continents of the Western Hemisphere. . The 10-year-old is representing the Ventura County area. She breezed through the competitions Wednesday, effortlessly spelling pyrrhotism (the state of being red-haired), flibbertigibbet flib·ber·ti·gib·bet n. A silly, scatterbrained, or garrulous person. [Middle English flipergebet. (a silly person) and ullaged (to fill a container less than full). Sean emerged from an oral competition and a 25-word written test with a combined score of 16. That was just one point shy of what he needed to move ahead in the quest for Verb 1. quest for - go in search of or hunt for; "pursue a hobby" quest after, go after, pursue look for, search, seek - try to locate or discover, or try to establish the existence of; "The police are searching for clues"; "They are searching for the $12,000 and national spelling fame. ``I made the smallest mistakes,'' he lamented of the written test. For instance, Sean said, he should have known the word was not ``biedemeyer'' but ``Biedermeier.'' Other words that tripped him up: triskaidekaphobia (fear of the number 13); quandary (dilemma); and panickiness (frightened). But between his activities as president of the student council, school plays, membership in the International Thespian Society The International Thespian Society is an honorary organization for high-school and middle-school theatre students located at more than 3,600 affiliated secondary schools across America, Canada, and abroad. The mission of ITS is to honor student excellence in the theatre arts. and trumpet playing in the school band, Sean pointed out: ``I haven't had much time to study.'' ``It's been really busy for him,'' his mother, Mel Sabino, chimed in. ``He does everything.'' There's no time to dwell on to continue long on or in; to remain absorbed with; to stick to; to make much of; as, to dwell upon a subject; a singer dwells on a note s>. - Shak. See also: Dwell the spelling bee loss, either. Sean was recently named class valedictorian, and with graduation coming up there are speeches to write, he said. Besides, Mel Sabino said, ``From the very beginning, we've always told him to do what he can, but take it easy. Enjoy yourself.'' Lisa Friedman, (202) 662-8731 lisa.friedman(at)langnews.com CAPTION(S): photo Photo: (color in SAC edition only) SABINO |
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