Photo courtesy of Dean Bear
Three students from First Nation community schools in Saskatchewan will be heading to the National Spelling Bee in Toronto in May after Friday’s Provincial First Nation Spelling Bee in Saskatoon.
McKenna Fineblanket of Bishop Roborecki School in Saskatoon won in the primary division.
Noah Merasty from Gateway Elementary in Meadow Lake took top spot in the junior category and Mykayla Cannapotato from Chief Taylor School in Onion Lake won the intermediate category.
Pauline Favel is the president of the Saskatchewan Region for the Spelling Bee of Canada and says that literacy training can be compared to training for athletes.
She says with the spelling bee First Nations students can prove that they are very bright and they can shine if given the opportunity.
Favel says the FNPSB Committee’s vision is to host a National First Nations Spelling Bee to inspire others from across Canada to make the same investment in their First Nations youth by creating opportunities to participate in these unique and innovative literacy initiatives.
Over 120 students from 34 First Nations community schools in the province took part.