MILWAUKEE — Ben Dames is a bit of a history buff – especially when it comes to John F Kennedy and speaking German!
“Ich bin ein Berliner!” he says, which is his favorite phrase, and means “I am a jelly filled donut.”
“He was in Berlin and he thought ‘berliner’ meant that he was from Berlin, but he actually should have said ‘Ich bin aus Berlin,’” Ben says.
German vocab isn’t the only thing Ben is mastering. He and his classmate Nicholas Signatur are finalists in the Milwaukee Public Schools Spelling Bee. They’ve been practicing since before winter break.
“We would do 40 words per day and then write down the words that I didn’t get right and then really drill those words down,” Nicholas says.
Ben’s mom Jennifer has been helping the boys get ready for the final rounds. She says there’s a lot more to learn than just spelling.
“That you can’t just sit back, that you need to work on stuff,” she says. “Some things come easy, but if you really want something, you really need to work for it and work hard at it.”
Principal Frank Lammers says the kids are practicing a skill they already know – kindness.
“Our children have many opportunities to work together, so this is not unusual. Our kids are very friendly to each other and they’re always helping each other,” he says. “I really particularly enjoy seeing the kids encourage each other.”
All that hard work and collaboration will hopefully result in one thing – a trophy.
“That’d be nice because you were nervous for the whole time and then finally it’s over and you won!” Nicholas says. “So that’d be a pretty good feeling, I guess.”
You can watch the first round of the Spelling Bee finals Saturday April 15th, featuring grades 3-5. On April 22nd, you’ll be able to watch the 6-8th grade finalists. We’ll be streaming the entire competition live on TMJ4.com.
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