Humorous, installation, influenza, immigrant, inventory and jealousy.

These are all words that either or both of the top two girls in St Mary struggled with and eventually failed to spell correctly. Jenelle Hinds and Nicollett Brown survived to the final spelldown from a total of 54 spellers in The Gleaner's Children's Own Spelling Bee at the Emmanuel Baptist Church in Port Maria yesterday.

Studied hard

When it was all done, it was a simple word, L-A-D-L-E, which propelled Jenelle to the position of third female parish finalist this year. Eleven-year-old Nicollett, unable to secure the top spot, broke down in tears.

But it was pure jubilation for Jenelle and her supporters.

Her method of preparation, she said, was simple. "I studied a lot and I prayed a lot."

The 10-year-old speller placed in the top 10 last year, and her win ensured Enfield Primary's first-ever hold on the Spelling Bee trophy.

Her mother, Keisha Moore, was in full support of her daughter and encouraged prayer.

"We are very excited about that," teacher Bevan Patrick-Sutherland said about the grade-six student's win.

Selection process

She explained that the process of selecting the school's represen-tatives began from the grade-four level.

Their champion yesterday, Jenelle, is unsure of what form her preparation will take going into the national finals, but she is sure of one constant ingredient: prayer.

- T. M.

Number of schools: 30

Number of spellers: 54

Overall winner: Jenelle Hinds

Champion boy: Tahj Bailey

Winning word: Ladle

Winning school: Enfield Primary and Junior High

Top five

1. Jenelle Hinds, Enfield Primary and Junior High

2. Nicollett Brown, Free Hill Primary

3. Tahj Bailey, Epsom Primary

4. Anna-Kay McNair, Preston Primary

5. Bridgette Swaby, Oracabessa Primary