Secondary school students have been encouraged to widen their reading culture to improve their spelling skills and vocabulary that will eventually improve their performance.
Secondary school students have been encouraged to widen their reading culture to improve their spelling skills and vocabulary that will eventually improve their performance.
This was during a spelling competition dubbed ‘Spelling Bee’ that was held last Saturday at King David Academy in Kigali. The theme words came from three categories; family, sports and education.
Participants from each school practised spelling of words in the categories provided with definition of each word, and a sample sentence in which the availed word is used correctly, to help them familiarise with the words they were tasked to spell.
The competition, initiated by Rotaract Club of Kigali City (RCKC), with support from Rotary Club of Virunga, Kigali Public Library and Grace Rwanda, aimed at advancing students’ skills associated with good spelling habits, enhancing students’ development of poise and communication under pressure, and encouraging accurate word usage and pronunciation.
Faridah Kamarizah, the RCKC president, noted that the spelling competition aimed at helping students learn definitions, pronunciations, parts of speech and origins of words, as well as providing an opportunity for interaction and encouraging student involvement in extracurricular activities.
"In as much as we are trying to advance student’s vocabulary and encourage accurate word usage and pronunciation, we also want to encourage students to get involved in extracurricular activities and form interact clubs to develop leadership skills and discover more opportunities connected to rotary,” she said.
Lycee de Kigali beat the other six competitors, with David Kato emerging the overall winner. The best school was awarded a trophy, while the top five participants won a one-year membership at The Kigali Public Library. The rest of the participants walked away with dictionaries from Grace Rwanda.
The other schools which participated include; King David Academy, FAWE Girls School, La Columbiere, Green Hills Academy, New Life Secondary School and Kagarama Secondary School.