The 2006 New Hampshire regional Educational Bee contests for Indian American children concluded on Saturday, March 25 at the New Hampshire Community Technical College in Manchester, N.H. The Spelling and Vocabulary Bees were held on Saturday March 18, while the Math, Geography and Essay contests were held on March 25. This was more like a community event that included well coordinated activities to fill the day.
North South Foundation (NSF) Manchester and the Indian Association of New Hampshire (IANH) organized the event. The event saw as many as 115 children participating in all contests. Many of the children participated in multiple events. Thanks to Shishubarathi and Kumon Center of Nashua for their sponsorship.
The proceedings began at about 9am with a cheerful crowd of enthusiastic children and their anxious, encouraging parents. Various teams of volunteers managed the events that took place in parallel in the different rooms of the venue.
The parents patiently waited the entire day while the children participated in various events. Parents were invited to a seminar organized by the Public Service Committee while they waited in the lounge. The talk by experts in the family connection area provided useful information to raise awareness of social issues in our community. There were numerous breaks in between contests when the children enjoyed the delicious snacks provided by the Shishubarathi team.
The event continued until 3 pm on each day of the contest after which the participants and winners were felicitated in a well-attended ceremony, with all the children being awarded participation certificates and medals.,. The winners in individual categories were congratulated by the organizers and handed their winning certificates and medals. All participants received medals and certificates. Winners will receive trophies donated by Kumon Center at the Spring Festival scheduled for Saturday May 6 at the Merrimack High School.
The Spelling and Geography Bee (which was introduced this year) were divided into two main categories by grades, the Junior and Senior, which specified separate grade ranges for the contest. The Vocabulary and Essay Bee had an additional category, the Intermediate. The Spelling, Vocabulary and Geography Bees had two phases, Phase I and Phase II, wherein the nature of the task progressed from the written to the oral. Scores for participants were totaled over the two phases. The Math Bee contests were divided into three levels by age groups.
All proceeds from this event will go to the North South Foundation, which provides scholarships for needy children in India.
Parents can obtain the percentile scores from the following link:
http://www.northsouth.org/app2/DisplayPercentiles.htm
