LAFAYETTE — Seven Indiana students have won their regional competitions and are now heading to the Scripps National Spelling Bee.
Seventh grader Joey Finnerty has been competing in spelling bees since fourth grade and this year, he won the regional competition and made it to the national stage.
He's the first East Tipp Middle School student to go to the Scripps Bee.
"I am kind of excited, but since there are so many people it kind of makes me think I'm not going to do super good and I'm probably not going to get very far, but if I think if I try my best, I'll do fine," Joey said.
Every night Joey puts in an hour of studying with the help of resources from Scripps. His goal is to practice 100 spelling words and 100 vocab words.
"At this level, the words are so difficult, most of them I don't even know what they are," Patrick Finnerty, Joey's dad, said.
Joey will be challenged on his vocabulary during a word meaning round of the Bee which is a multiple-choice vocabulary question. This new element started last year to advance the bee's focus on word knowledge and literacy.
"If I get the first word wrong, I will feel pretty disappointed, but as long as I try my best, I'll be happy," Finnerty said.
The competition is fully back in person this year at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center just outside of Washington D.C. The preliminaries are on May 31.
This year, for the first time in bee history, the semifinals and finals rounds will be aired exclusively on ION and Bounce, which are free Scripps TV stations.
-
1 shot, killed on south side of Indy
One person was shot and killed on the south side of Indianapolis early Thursday morning, police said.
Daughter wants new investigation into mom's death under new Indiana law
A woman is seeking answers about her mother’s 1990 death, more than three decades after Morgan County ruled it was a suicide.
F.A.S.T. program helps families helping families gain financial independence
A program at the Fay Biccard Glick Neighborhood Center is focused on building up and supporting families in the 46260 zip code.
Bridging the gap... Literally
There's a new way to travel to the AMP at 16 Tech from downtown Indy and nearby communities. It's a new connector off West 10th Street and Riley Hospital Drive.
