Senior Spelling Bee

The Senior Bee is held in the winter quarter each year at Compass’s learning center in Herndon. The contest will be oral questions and responses following the format, rules, and guidelines of the national Scripps Spelling Bee program. The Compass winner will advance to the Fairfax County spelling bee each spring.

• The Senior Bee is for homeschooled students age 9 and older plus the two qualifying Junior Bee Spellers.
• Homeschooled students under age 15* and under can participate in the Senior Bee. A student must be under age 15 as of August 31 of the current school year to participate.
• This contest is open to all homeschooled students from northern Virginia, regardless of whether or not they take classes at Compass!
• This contest is also open to Compass students* who reside in Maryland, West Virginia, and/or Washington DC. Homeschooled students from these areas who do not attend Compass classes cannot be accommodated and are encouraged to find or organize bees in their own area.
• A student may compete in only one local Scripps bee and cannot “shop” around by participating in more than one homeschool spelling bee.
• Students who are enrolled in private schools cannot be accommodated in this bee.

• The Compass Senior Bee Champion will be invited to represent Compass and participate in the Fairfax County Spelling Bee in the spring. In the event the Champion is unable to participate at the county level, the Compass runner-up will be invited to participate.
• If the Compass winner is not the overall winner from Fairfax County, he/she can apply to be an additional participant in the National Bee through the RSVBee program.
• All Compass participants will receive a certificate and small token. The Compass champion will receive a certificate, small token, and a medal.

There is a nominal participation fee; see the activity fee page for details.

• All registered participants will receive an e-mail with practice words lists.
• Visit spelling practice websites such as Word Central and Spell It
• Watch YouTube videos (with your parents) YouTube videos of past national spelling bees
• Watch bee-related movies (with your parents) bee-themed movies such as Spellbound or Akeelah and the Bee.
• Read!