Local kid-hero Alia Abiad wrote a poem incorporating all the words she spelled correctly during her victory at the Suburban Cook County Spelling Bee.
Those who know Alia Abiad are already well aware that she’s brilliant with words—the McClure seventh-grader qualified last month for the Scripps National Spelling Bee. But now we’ve discovered that Alia is a poet, as well. The Western Springs student wrote a poem using all the words she spelled correctly during her qualifying run in the Suburban Cook County Spelling Bee. She sent it to Scripps as a thank you for hosting her in the national competition, which takes place Memorial Day weekend. Guys, this poem is good. Really good. Read it in its entirety below and think back to what you were doing in seventh grade. By Alia Abiad we are facing off at the start of the war lights are dimming, theater doors closing phones flickering flickering …
41.812678
-87.89878
McClure Junior High School
4225 Wolf Rd, Western Springs, IL
/articles/spelling-champ-writes-amazing-thank-you-poem-to-scripps-national-bee
309320
/locations/9118915
Representing the home team on McClure’s stage, Western Springs seventh-grader Alia Abiad became District 101’s first-ever Cook County champion.
Representing the home team on McClure’s stage, Western Springs seventh-grader Alia Abiad became District 101’s first-ever Cook County champion.
F-R-U-I-T-I-O-N, and with that twelfth-consecutive correctly spelled word, Western Springs seventh-grader Alia Abiad’s hard work and study came to fruition on Thursday night as she won the Regional ISC Cook County Spelling Bee Final, securing her place in the Scripps National Bee in Washington D.C. in May. Facing down nine other hardy contenders from throughout the county—an insanely young field with three fifth-graders and no eighth-graders—Abiad breezed through balcony, finale, threshold, recalcitrant, Qatari, prabhu, tamarind, broach, garlicky, spectacular and median before fruition finally secured her the win. “At first, I wasn’t sure if it was my last word or not!” Abiad said. “[Then] I was really excited, so I was trying to calm down…
TGCohen
10:48 am on Friday, March 29, 2013
Also a tribute to the exceptional public school system in this area - Laidlaw, McClure, LTHS - our system, educators, administrators and students - second to none. more ›