Concerns about Ontario students’ education in comparison with other jurisdictions is argued with each new study. Some of them show our kids aren’t up to snuff in some subjects and some grades while others prove that Ontario is teaching its children well.

From time to time, there are venues beyond the classroom that showcase some of the brightest pupils in our communities. On Feb. 16, 18 enthusiastic elementary students participated in the first regional spelling bee, sponsored by The Chronicle-Journal. It went so well that we are already planning next year’s bee in which many more schools and students are expected to participate.

The CanWest CanSpell National Spelling Bee is organized across Canada by the CanWest newspaper chain. It partners with daily newspapers in communities throughout the country to stage local and regional bees. Those are preceded by bees in individual schools to select a winner and runner-up.

Perhaps because this was the first time that the event has been held in Thunder Bay, only a dozen elementary schools across the entire Northwest accepted our invitation to hold spelling bees to advance their two best spellers to the regional tournament. Noteworthy by their presence were two students from Crolancia Public School in Pickle Lake. The other 16 were from the Thunder Bay area.

Held at Lakehead University, which provided three professors as judges, and with two profs from Western Canada as pronouncers, the weekend final was thoroughly professional and expertly organized. A sense of excellence pervaded the afternoon and an air of excitement grew with each round of competition.

As the words got harder, and the field narrowed, the cheers got louder and the silences between them more intense. It really was a thrilling afternoon and in the end only 11-year-old Logan Turner was left standing at the microphone, applause swelling around him.

The title of best speller brings with it an impressive list of prizes designed to enhance learning. AIC gave Turner a $5,000 Registered Education Saving Plan. Air Canada will fly him to Ottawa for the national finals and to Washington for the North American competition that has been the subject of popular motion pictures. Canada Post pays entry fees and The Chronicle-Journal handed Turner a new laptop computer. Not bad for an afternoon of concentration.

Perhaps the chance to have students from their schools compete in national capitals, win impressive prizes, and be called champions will prompt more teachers and principals to get on board the CanSpell competition next year.We sincerely hope so.

Together with our Newspapers in Education program, The Chronicle-Journal is devoted to classroom literacy. CanWest’s invitation to host the regional spelling bee was a natural fit for us. It was a pleasure to take it on and an honour to provide a forum for such gifted young people.

You can follow Logan’s progress in our pages. Rest assured, we will be with him every step of the way.