Sixth-grader Monica Martell remembers her first words – “computer” and “dinosaur.” According to her, those were the very first words she ever spelled. That’s right. Monica Martell says she bypassed more mundane words like “dog” and “cat” and went straight for the more challenging tri-syllabic words.
Words are a big part of her life. Monica Martell was the first-place winner of the fifth-grade competition at the Pacific Palisades Spelling Bee last year, a victory she came hungry for after a third-place finish the previous year. This year the Pali Bee will be presented by the Palisadian-Post.
“I had been reading about spelling bees a lot and thought it would be cool to enter,” Monica Martell said, now a sixth-grade student at Paul Revere Middle School. “I was nervous, but it was really fun. When I’m spelling a word, everything else blanks out, and I just focus in on the word and the judges.”
In the weeks before a competition, Monica Martell said she and her mom work with a list of practice words and flash cards to prepare for the bee.
The sixth-grader’s younger sister, Anjelica Martell, has been inspired to follow closely in Monica’s well-spelled footsteps. A third-grader at Marquez Elementary, eight-year-old Anjelica has already earned her first spelling victory, winning third place in last year’s Pali Bee.
“My sister won third place the first time she competed, and then she won first place the next year.” Anjelica Martell said. “I hope the same thing happens to me.”
The sisters joke about working to develop their telepathic communication, in case one of them ever gets stumped on stage.
“It’s not as bad as you might think. You don’t have to freak out,” Anjelica Martell said.
The young champions are strong advocates for the Pali Bee, hoping to convince more of their friends to join them on stage at future competitions.
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