HEF Annual Spelling Bee

2023 HEF Spelling Bee

Third Grade Winners: "Screaming Gophers"

Winning word: raspberry
Left to right: Mark Swiatkowski, Oliver Taylor, Kerry Gossard

4th Grade: "Stingers"

Winning word: consistent
Left to right: Darwin Steele, Tony Bata, Henry Inglis

5th Grade: "Bee Gees"

Winning word: changable
Left ot right: Madelyn Maher, Sofia Roberts, Ava Bartletto

2023 HEF Spelling Bee Photos

2023 HEF Spelling Bee Video

Registration Guidelines
  • The HEF Spelling Bee is open to 3rd, 4th and 5th graders, provided they are Hingham residents and attend a Hingham public elementary school
  • Registration and closes once 30 hives have registered for each grade
  • One parent captain will register the entire hive online with:
    • A hive (team) name – the Hive name can not be changed
    • Each student’s name
    • Parent/Guardians’ email
    • School the students attend
  • Each hive costs $90 to register ($30 per student).  The parent captain will pay the entire hive fee of $90 to secure a spot in the bee. It is the sole responsibility of the parent captain to collect the remaining $60 reimbursement from remaining hive members
  • While not required, we encourage each Hive to have fun and get creative with themed costumes
  • Teams must be comprised of three eligible spellers in the same grade, regardless of Hingham Public school
Event Details and Rules
Bee Practice Tips

Team Practice
THE BEST thing students can do to prepare for the HEF Spelling Bee is to get together with their team to run through the process of the Bee. All 3 should sit together at a table with a white board and dry erase marker, scratch paper and pencil. An adult can play the moderator and give them a word (you can use spelling words from school for this purpose). The adult should pronounce the word, define it, say it in a sentence, and pronounce it one more time. Team members have 30 seconds to collaborate on the word, write it on the board, and hold it up for the judges to see.

Practice Listening
It is VERY IMPORTANT for students to practice listening. Many errors at the Bee are because the team did not hear the “right word” – they NEED to listen to the definition and sentence as well as the word pronunciation because there are homophones (e.g., pitcher and picture, bazaar and bizarre) and other easily confused words (e.g., desert and dessert).

Choose a Team Writer 
Each team will need to designate one writer as it helps eliminate confusion. The writer should be the team member with the largest, most legible handwriting who can write neatly and quickly under the pressure of a time constraint. By having each team member practice as writer you will be able to find the best person for the job.

You Do Not Need To Study
Students do NOT need to study specific word lists… or study at all, but we know that many want to so we have provided some resources below that may be of help. There is no “official practice list” for the HEF Spelling Bee.

Spelling Bee Word Lists

If you wish to practice spelling words the sites below may be helpful:

Scripps National Spelling Bee

Learner.org

Spelling Words Well

Previous HEF Spelling Bee Photos