It was not a typical day in Mrs. Garcia’s homeroom fifth grade class at St. Bonaventure Catholic School in Davie. On Wednesday, there was a definite buzz, but it focused on Mrs. DiBattista, the school's gifted program teacher, and the day's lessons.
The fifth graders at the school were glued to a TV screen watching their classmate, Simone Kaplan, compete in the National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C.
Kaplan won the Broward County competition, which enabled her to advance to the national round. Kaplan’s best friend, Isabella Lopez, heard about it almost immediately.
“She told me about the spelling bee and she was really excited," Lopez said. "I mean really, really excited. I mean like jumping for joy."
It’s no surprise that Kaplan is competing for the $40,000 top prize.
Mrs.Garcia said Kaplan is a hard working student, the kind that every teacher loves to have in their classroom.
“She’s an avid reader and she loves to learn," Mrs. Garcia said. "She has a passion for learning."
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Kaplan has such a thirst for knowledge that she studied about 100,000 words to prepare for the national competition. In fact, the wordsmith innocently offers assistance in the classroom.
“Sometimes she’ll correct me, if I make a mistake in writing," Mrs. DiBattista said. "‘Oh, that’s not how you write it.’ Oh, that’s ok. I’m not perfect. Everybody makes mistakes."
Her class watched Kaplan take her turn this morning, correctly spelling “fibula” in the second round. The grade schooler couldn’t hear the cheers coming from Davie, but it’s clear she’s a rock star.
"Good luck Simone," Lopez said. "You’re my best friend and I know you can do it."
Vasundara Govindarajan and Tyler Berndt join Kaplan as spelling bee participants from South Florida.
