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The Suffolk Education Foundation’s fifth annual Grown-Up Spelling Bee is set for 2 p.m. Saturday, May 14, at John Yeates  Middle School.

Teams of three adults will work together to spell words and compete for the title of “Best Spellers in Suffolk.” Teams that face elimination can buy a “spell check” or “sting” another team by passing on a difficult word.

Organizers hope to sign up 10 educator teams and 10 corporate/community teams. The Suffolk News-Herald won the last bee held in 2020.

“This is a fun team event to benefit Suffolk Education Foundation, a nonprofit organization that enriches teaching and inspires learning in Suffolk Public Schools,” said the foundation’s Bethanne Bradshaw. “The spelling bee directly benefits the teachers and students of Suffolk Public Schools. Money raised will support innovative educational programs, college scholarships, fine arts programs and the Teacher Supply Store.”

A $250 donation covers the cost to register a three-person team. School teams are also recruiting sponsors. Sponsorship levels include:

• $250 – sponsor a team
• $100 – sponsor a word to be read during the championship round
• $50 – sponsor a letter and receive signage at the event and on the event website
• $75 – purchase “lifelines” for teams

Ads in the event booklet are $200 for a full page and $100 for a half page.

Sign up by emailng suffolkEF.contact@gmail.com or calling 757-237-3249.

“The event is designed to be fun, not like the nerve-wracking spelling bees some might remember from their  youth or see on television every year,” Bradshaw said. “Three-person teams will get the chance to confer on the spellings of  words, writing them out on notepads first before one person shares the spelling at the microphone. No one  will be given words that have all X’s and Y’s and are only used by lawyers and botanists. To ramp up the F-U-N, the organization encourages silly team names and buzz-worthy costumes. Examples might include WordNerds, Old Men and the Bee, Highway to Spell and Bee-Dazzled.”