CINCINNATI – The Scripps National Spelling Bee invites the public to pick the best videos submitted for the Spellebrity Video Contest. Teams of kids from across the country creatively produced videos that spell out how to kindle the love of reading. The Scripps National Spelling Bee, presented by Kindle, launched the contest as part of the celebration of National Reading Month in March.
A panel of judges reviewed the long list of submitted videos and narrowed it down to the top 10 Semifinalist videos. Now the public is invited to vote. The top five vote-getting teams win an expenses-paid trip to the 2016 Scripps National Spelling Bee this May 22-27, near Washington, D.C.
“We know how talented and creative children can be and these videos even surpassed our expectations,” said Paige Kimble, executive director of the Scripps National Spelling Bee. “They clearly demonstrate their love of reading, and we are impressed with their video-producing skills. Just as there is an endless supply of ideas for books, these video finalists came up with original concepts to tell an important story.”
In February, the Scripps National Spelling Bee, the nation’s largest and longest-running educational program, announced Kindle as its presenting sponsor. Both brands are working to elevate the belief that reading, spelling and vocabulary are critically important to a child’s lifelong achievement. With the Spellebrity Video Contest, students used their imagination to combine spelling and reading into a fun and inspiring message.
One video team used clever special effects and stop motion animation to show a child’s reading adventure within the pages of a book. A solo performer went through numerous costume changes as she shared her tour of book genres. And another team from a deaf education program used sign language to list their favorite books and explain the benefits of reading.
All 10 semifinalist videos and online voting are available on Spellebrity.com. Contest rules limited video teams to no more than four members; the videos had a limit of less than five minutes; and they had to include at least three words that might be important to know for a spelling bee.
Voting guidelines:
• Go to Spellebrity.com to watch the videos and vote.
• Every voter has one vote per day.
• The voting window is 9 a.m. EDT April 18 through 11:59 p.m. EDT April 22.
• Voters must be in the U.S.
• Voters must be at least 13 years old.
Semifinalists:
• Kendall Kindles | Post Falls, Idaho | Canfield Middle School
• Wordventurers | Indianapolis, Indiana | IPS Center for Inquiry #84
• Lexi’s Productions | New Haven, Indiana | St. Peter’s Lutheran School
• Kimberly Noorlander | Oneonta, New York | Oneonta Middle School
• Nathan & Nico | Cincinnati, Ohio | Winton Woods Middle School
• Wright Deaf Ed | Tulsa, Oklahoma | Wright Elementary
• Just Read It | Lake Oswego, Oregon | River Grove Elementary
• The Escape Artists | Harrison, Ohio | Harrison Junior School
• Team Electric Imagination | Sugar Land, Texas | Colony Meadows Elementary
• SLV Kids | Blacksburg, Virginia | Blacksburg New School
The five videos that receive the most votes will advance to the National Finals where participants in the Scripps National Spelling Bee will vote for the best video. The Champion video will be announced during the 2016 Bee Week.
Prizes:
Each member of the Semifinalist teams (10) will receive a Kindle Paperwhite.
Each member of the Finalist teams (5), as selected by popular vote, will receive an expenses-paid trip to the 2016 Scripps National Spelling Bee:
– Economy airfare or train fare for each team member and a parent/guardian
– One standard hotel room at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center
– $400 gift card for travel and meal expenses
– Complimentary tickets for each team member and parent/guardian for the National Zoo experience, a Bee-organized tour of Washington, D.C., and the Awards Banquet
Each member of the Champion team (1) will receive:
– $1,000 cash award
– Trophy
Key dates:
April 18-22 – Public votes on Spellebrity.com for favorite Semifinalist video
April 25 – Announcement of five Finalist videos at Spellebrity.com
May 22-26 – Finalist videos presented and voted on during Bee Week
May 27 – Champion video announced
About the Scripps National Spelling Bee:
The Scripps National Spelling Bee is the nation’s largest and longest-running educational program. The purpose of the Scripps National Spelling Bee is to help students improve their spelling, increase their vocabularies, learn concepts and develop correct English usage that will help them all of their lives. Visit spellingbee.com for more information about the Scripps National Spelling Bee, which is administered on a not-for-profit basis by The E.W. Scripps Company.
About Scripps:
The E.W. Scripps Company (NYSE: SSP) serves audiences and businesses through a growing portfolio of television, radio and digital media brands. Scripps is one of the nation’s largest independent TV station owners, with 33 television stations in 24 markets and a reach of nearly one in five U.S. households. It also owns 34 radio stations in eight markets. Scripps also runs an expanding collection of local and national digital journalism and information businesses, including satire and humor video and web brand Cracked, podcast industry leader Midroll Media and over-the-top video news service Newsy. Scripps also produces television shows including “THE LIST” and “The Now” and runs an award-winning investigative reporting newsroom in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1878, Scripps has held for decades to the motto, “Give light and the people will find their own way.”
About Amazon:
Amazon.com opened on the World Wide Web in July 1995. The company is guided by four principles: customer obsession rather than competitor focus, passion for invention, commitment to operational excellence, and long-term thinking. Customer reviews, 1-Click shopping, personalized recommendations, Prime, Fulfillment by Amazon, AWS, Kindle Direct Publishing, Kindle, Fire tablets, Fire TV, Amazon Echo, and Alexa are some of the products and services pioneered by Amazon. For more information, visit www.amazon.com/about.