春季学期已过大半，学子在这一年里取得了令人惊叹的进步，并通过各种活动和比赛展示他们的成长。福州西湖国际学校（FLIS）近来举行了第12届小学英语拼词大赛（Spelling Bee），同样精彩纷呈！

Springtime is a wonderful time in the school year.  Students have made incredible progress throughout the year, and are given the chance to show the progress they have made through various events and competitions. Our most recent competition, the 12th Annual PYP Spelling Bee, held on 15 May 2026, was no different.

三、四、五年级先在班级范围内举行了拼写比赛，每个年级的前三名选手得以晋级小学英语拼词大赛决赛。本次比赛沿用美国规模最大的英语拼词大赛——2026全美拼词大赛——的官方学习材料”Words of the Champions”，部分单词难度极高，即使成年母语者也感到棘手！（有人知道“flexitarian”是什么意思吗？或者什么时候该说一个“waggery”？）  FLIS小学九名参赛者在班级赛和决赛中都经受了严峻考验，每个人都充分展现了“勇于尝试（Risk-Taker）”这一IB学习者特质。

Grades three, four, and five held in-class spelling competitions to determine the three finalists from each grade to attend the Spelling Bee.  Some of the words from the 2026 Scripps “Words of the Champions” were very difficult, even for adult native speakers!  (Anyone know what a “flexitarian” is?  Or when to act with “waggery?”)  The nine contestants were challenged, and each exemplified the IB trait of Risk-Taker in both the class and final competitions.

比赛历经七轮角逐决出前三名：四年级的Felix Yu和Enzo Zhang，以及五年级的Joan Zhang同学。三人拼出了“astounding”、“casserole”和“predicament”等单词。最终，Felix获得第三名，Joan和Enzo则在一轮打平后展开了冠军争夺战。接着Enzo成功拼写出“contemporary”一词，从而捧走冠军奖杯！

The competition lasted seven rounds before we got to our final three: Felix Yu and Enzo Zhang from 4th grade, and Joan Zhang from 5th grade.  They were able to get by words such as “astounding,” “casserole,” and “predicament.”  In the end, Felix captured 3rd place, with Joan and Enzo battling for the championship.  Enzo was able to capture the first-place trophy by spelling “contemporary” successfully.

除了勇于尝试以外，所有拼词大赛参赛者也展现了IB学习者“勤于思考（Thinking）”与“知识渊博（Knowledgeable）”特质，在耐心、从容地拼写单词、竭尽全力发挥最佳水平时，还体现了“及时反思（Reflection）”能力。大家的表现都很出色，特别感谢评委们抽出时间参与本次活动！

In addition to being good Risk-Takers, all spelling bee participants showed their Thinking and Knowledgeable IB Trait skills, as well as Reflection when they patiently took their time to spell the word to the best of their abilities. Nice job to all of you, and a special thanks to the judges for sharing their time!