{"id":15738,"date":"2026-03-03T15:21:37","date_gmt":"2026-03-03T20:21:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/pr\/?p=15738"},"modified":"2026-03-03T15:21:38","modified_gmt":"2026-03-03T20:21:38","slug":"umes-to-host-2026-maryland-eastern-shore-spelling-bee-on-march-7","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/pr\/umes-to-host-2026-maryland-eastern-shore-spelling-bee-on-march-7\/","title":{"rendered":"UMES to host 2026 Maryland Eastern Shore Spelling Bee on March 7"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"716\" src=\"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/pr\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/03\/076A9870-scaled-e1772569258474-1024x716.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-15740\" style=\"width:805px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/pr\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/03\/076A9870-scaled-e1772569258474-1024x716.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/pr\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/03\/076A9870-scaled-e1772569258474-300x210.jpg 300w, https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/pr\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/03\/076A9870-scaled-e1772569258474-768x537.jpg 768w, https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/pr\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/03\/076A9870-scaled-e1772569258474-1536x1074.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/pr\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/03\/076A9870-scaled-e1772569258474.jpg 1677w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Third-to-eighth grade students from Dorchester, Somerset, Wicomico, and Worcester counties will participate in the 2026 Eastern Shore Regional Spelling Bee at UMES&#8217; Ella Fitzgerald Performing Arts Center on Saturday, March 7.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Lower Eastern Shore students will converge on the University of Maryland Eastern Shore this weekend for an old-fashioned spelldown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">UMES will host the 2026 Maryland Eastern Shore Regional Spelling Bee on Saturday, March 7, at the Ella Fitzgerald Center for the Performing Arts. The competition begins at 10 a.m.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">UMES has sponsored the event since 2013, with the exception of 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe are proud to once again be in partnership with the Scripps National Spelling Bee that supports local students\u2019 love of learning,\u201d said <strong>Earl Holland Jr.<\/strong>, UMES public relations director and bee organizer. \u201cThis event not only puts into focus the importance of student-centered success, but also community engagement, which are touchstones of our institutional mission.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Since its inception, the regional spelling bee has provided students in grades three through eight with an opportunity to showcase their spelling and vocabulary skills. The winner of the bee receives a keepsake trophy and an all-expense-paid trip to the nation\u2019s capital in late May to compete with top spellers nationally in the 101<sup>st<\/sup> Scripps National Spelling Bee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This year\u2019s competition will feature 50 elementary and middle school students from public and private schools in Dorchester, Somerset, Wicomico and Worcester counties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Megan Barrientos<\/strong> of Wicomico Middle School, <a href=\"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/pr\/barrientos-claims-2025-eastern-shore-regional-spelling-bee-title\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"15450\">who won last year\u2019s Maryland Eastern Shore Regional Spelling Bee<\/a>, finished as a semifinalist at the 100<sup>th<\/sup> Scripps National Spelling Bee. Barrientos, now an eighth grader, will attempt to defend her title in her final appearance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Entry for the free event begins at 8:30 a.m. It is open to the general public.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For more information on the Maryland Eastern Shore Regional Spelling Bee, go to <a href=\"http:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/bee\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"wwwcp.umes.edu\/bee\">wwwcp.umes.edu\/bee<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Lower Eastern Shore students will converge on the University of Maryland Eastern Shore this weekend for an old-fashioned spelldown. UMES will host the 2026 Maryland Eastern Shore Regional Spelling Bee on Saturday, March 7, at the Ella Fitzgerald Center for the Performing Arts. The competition begins at 10 a.m. UMES has sponsored the event since&#8230;<span class=\"cpschool-read-more-link-holder\"><a class=\"btn btn-basic cpschool-read-more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/pr\/umes-to-host-2026-maryland-eastern-shore-spelling-bee-on-march-7\/\">Read more <span class=\"sr-only\">UMES to host 2026 Maryland Eastern Shore Spelling Bee on March 7<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1559,"featured_media":15740,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":true,"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","wds_primary_category":1,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-15738","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/pr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15738","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/pr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/pr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/pr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1559"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/pr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15738"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/pr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15738\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/pr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15740"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/pr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15738"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/pr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15738"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/pr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15738"},{"taxonomy":"post_folder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/pr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_folder?post=15738"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}