SIBLING CHALLENGE FAMILY TIES ENLIVEN SPELLING BEE.Byline: Peggy Hager Staff Writer ROSAMOND - Ratatouille ra·ta·tou·ille n. A vegetable stew, usually made with eggplant, tomatoes, zucchini, peppers, and onions, seasoned with herbs and garlic. [French, from alteration of toillier, touiller, , lobscouse lob·scouse n. A sailor's stew made of meat, vegetables, and hardtack. [Perhaps dialectal lob, to bubble + scouse, of unknown origin. , evanescent ev·a·nes·cent adj. Of short duration; passing away quickly. , inculcate in·cul·cate tr.v. in·cul·cat·ed, in·cul·cat·ing, in·cul·cates 1. To impress (something) upon the mind of another by frequent instruction or repetition; instill: inculcating sound principles. : These are just some of the words brothers Justin and Seth Colon may have to spell when they compete against each other Jan. 8 in the 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. competition for Southern Kern Unified School District A unified school district is a school district which includes both primary school (kindergarten through middle school or junior high) and high school (grades 9-12). In Illinois, these districts are called unit school districts. . The brothers' competitive spirit was clearly evident as they playfully tossed pine needles pine needles pine npl → Kiefernnadeln pl pine needles npl → aghi mpl di pino at each other across the dining room table. But neither the boys nor their mother, Jessica Colon, would state who they thought would win. ``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. . Seth is setting his goals really high. He's already told me he wants to be a fourth-grader that goes to Washington (D.C.). They're both good, and I honestly ..., I don't know,'' she said. ``I don't even know if they're going to win district, so I really don't even want to say until it happens.'' Justin got to the district bee by competing against 28 students in the sixth, seventh, and eighth grades at Tropico Middle. Seth competed against 13 students in grades four and five at Rosamond Elementary. At the district competition they will face approximately 20 competitors in the fourth through eighth grades. That competition is at 8 a.m. Jan. 8 at Rosamond Elementary School elementary school: see school. . The winners of the district competition will go on to the regional competition, then the Kern County competition in Bakersfield. The winners of Bakersfield will go on to the national competition in Washington, D.C. - where the winner will walk away with $10,000. Both boys are ``A'' students, which is one of the few things they seem to have in common. Justin likes performing magic tricks, drawing and hockey while Seth prefers football, basketball and video games. Justin is also the quieter one, answering questions in single words while Seth prefers to elaborate on his answers. Seth relates the spelling competition to wrestling. ``We're competing against each other and ... one of us is gonna have to win and one is not. If I do lose, I'll still be happy because at least I made it that far.'' For Justin, this is his third, and possibly final, year of competition. Last year he made it to the district level and in 2000 he was finally eliminated in the county competition at Bakersfield, where he was the youngest student. The brothers study for three hours each day from a list of approximately 500 words, in addition to their regular homework. They also have access to a Web site that gives the pronunciation and definition of the words. ``It's fun sometimes, sometimes it's not really fun,'' said Seth, who added: ``To win is fun.'' Justin said he was never particularly interested in competing in the spelling bee but studying for the competition has helped him with his schoolwork. ``I just think it makes them better people,'' said Jessica. ``I want them to achieve for the highest.'' CAPTION(S): photo Photo: (color) From left, Justin Colon, 11 and his brother, Seth, 9, prepare for the district spelling bee. Jeff Goldwater/Staff Photographer |
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