Catholic Schools Week Supplement

Hard work spells success at state level for small school

Students and coaches of the Spell Bowl team of St. Roch School in Indianapolis pose for a photo after winning the Indiana state championship in spelling at the Class 4 level, marking the sixth time in the past seven years that the school’s team has won a state championship. (Submitted photo)

By John Shaughnessy

Considering the success of the Spell Bowl team of St. Roch School in Indianapolis, the team members wouldn’t have any difficulty spelling the word, “dynasty.”

For the third straight year, the team of sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders from St. Roch has won the Indiana state championship in spelling at the Class 4 level.

In fact, in the past seven years, the team has won six state championships in the Academic Spell Bowl. The one team that didn’t win finished second, losing on a tiebreaker.

The latest state championship came on Nov. 10 at Purdue University in West Lafayette—a championship that produced the same reactions as when a sports team wins a title.

“There were big smiles, loud cheers and pumping of fists,” recalls Mary Ann Chamberlin, the team’s head coach who also teaches religion and social studies at the school. “There’s a real sense of accomplishment because it’s hard, and they’ve worked hard.”

St. Roch team members practiced five days a week from the beginning of the school year in August until early November, striving to master the spelling of the more than 1,600 words that are the foundation of the competition.

Spell Bowl is a team competition, requiring eight team members to take their individual turn at trying to correctly spell—in writing—nine words. A person pronounces each word and uses it in a sentence. Participants then have 15 seconds to spell the word. The team that spells the most words correctly wins the competition.

“Just like in sports, they learn the value of teamwork, that they’re only as strong as their weakest link,” Chamberlin says. “They also learn the value of putting time into this. They practice at home, too. There’s that personal self-discipline that, ‘I’ve got to spell this word.’ ”

They’re “old-school” values from a teacher who considers herself “old school” about the importance of spelling.

“I think spelling is becoming a lost art,” says the mother of four and the grandmother of eight. “And I appreciate that these kids are willing to spend their time learning to spell. I think being accurate in your writing, your spelling and your grammar is very important.”

Chamberlin also savors the impact that the team’s success has on the students and the school where she has taught for 35 of her 37 years as a Catholic educator.

“It’s nice for our little school to be recognized. I’m just so proud of the work the kids do.” †