Cayman’s Brightest Spellers Crowned at National Spelling Bees

Two outstanding young spellers rose to the top at this year’s National Spelling Bee competitions, held at the John Gray High School Performing Arts Hall from 25 to 26 November. Matthew Anderson captured the title in the 26^th Annual RBC Royal Bank Primary National Spelling Bee, while Jasmine Bacina earned first place in the 43^rd Annual Lions Club of Grand Cayman Secondary National Spelling Bee.

Primary Spelling Bee

Year 6 student Matthew Anderson of Edna Moyle Primary School claimed the top spot after correctly spelling the championship word “dysphoria.” Having finished in second place last year, Matthew returned this year even more determined. The final round came down to Matthew and last year’s winner, Siddharth Yedla, in a tense and exciting finish.

Matthew, who recently made history as the youngest person in the Caribbean to pass the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations, said his win came down to more than just memorising the letters in each word. “I would encourage aspiring spellers to learn what words mean, where they come from, and how they’re used—not just how to spell them.”

This year’s competition brought together 58 students from 22 primary schools across the Cayman Islands—an increase in participation from last year, highlighting the growing enthusiasm for the Spelling Bee.

Khadene Lobban, Area Vice President of Personal & Private Banking and Country Head for RBC Cayman Islands, praised the participants, saying:
“It is wonderful to see our Caymanian youth expanding their vocabularies and digging deep to learn the value of language and the importance of demonstrating their knowledge with grace under pressure.”

Secondary Spelling Bee

The following day, 26 November, Grade 7 Cayman International School student Jasmine Bacina earned the top honour in the secondary competition—an especially notable feat as this was her first time competing in the Spelling Bee.

Jasmine expressed her fascination with the language itself, sharing, “I like how English is made up of so many different cultures coming together to form different spellings of words.” She also thanked her mother for consistently encouraging her to practise. Despite her strong performance, Jasmine admitted she was pleasantly surprised to win.

Students from 12 secondary schools participated, making for a spirited and highly competitive event.

Lions Club of Grand Cayman member Daniel Reid, PMJF First VP, reflected on the experience, noting: “Having competed in similar competitions in my earlier years, I truly appreciate the preparation that these young people have gone through. It takes courage and hard work to do this, and the level that they have performed at is commendable. We must continue to encourage our young people in everything positive that they do, and this event is a great example of our organisation’s ongoing mission to support youth education and foster essential literacy skills.”

Mark Ray, Director of the Department of Education Services (DES), said, “One of the things that we truly value at the Department of Education Services is the opportunity to form these public-private partnerships. These partnerships with local companies, service clubs, and community groups add tremendous value to what we offer within the education landscape.”

He also commended all competitors for their hard work and thanked the coaches, teachers, and parents who supported the students, as well as the DES team for organising the event.

For more information about the National Spelling Bee or other DES programmes, please contact DES Senior Customer Service Manager Kimberly Kirkconnell at 945-1199 or DESSchoolEvents@gov.ky.