“One Country – Many Languages”

Newark Hosts NJ’s Only Multilingual Spelling Bee
Portuguese, Spanish and English Speaking Spelling Bee
Event Is Believed to Be the Only 1 in the Region

[NEWARK, NJ – May 31, 2018] Newark Public Schools, New Jersey’s largest school district, hosted the 39th Annual MULTILINGUAL Spelling Bee. The spelling bee, held at the Newark Museum, spans 3 days and incorporates three languages.

Day 1 featured the spelling bee in Portuguese, Day 2 featured Spanish and the final day, Day 3 featured all spelling in English. The Multilingual Spelling Bee included more than 250 students from across the city. The Spelling Bee featured Division A consisting of Grades 4-6, Division B consisting of Grades 7-8 and Division C consisting of Grades 9-12.

Interim Superintendent A. Robert Gregory commended the Bilingual Department for continuing to carry on a NPS tradition that encourages students to speak in their native language, as part of their overall learning. He added, “Communication, whether in Portuguese, Spanish, English or other languages, is key to opening a world of wonder and engagement with others.

Brenda Garcia, Executive Director of the Bilingual Department said, “I am very proud of the students and their engagement in our Multilingual Spelling Bee. The love of languages is something that we encourage for our students and families. This event helps to reinforce our mission of engaging students in the languages.