1998 will mark the 37th year the Deseret News has honored high school seniors through the Sterling Scholar Awards program. However, this commitment to Utah's educational community is not confined to just the Sterling Scholar Awards. The Deseret News also invests time and resources in many other educational programs.
This will be the 22nd year the Deseret News has secured the Utah sponsorship of the Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee. Utah students in the fourth through the eighth grades have been studying the spelling, pronunciation and definition of hundreds of words since the end of last year in preparation for the Deseret News Utah Spelling Bee Championship Finals.This year's competition will be held this coming March 27th at the Salt Lake Community College Grand Theater.
The Utah spelling contest will pit 45 district spelling bee winners from public, private, parochial and home schools. The winner of the state contest will be sent on an all-expense-paid trip, to participate in the 71st annual Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C., courtesy of the Deseret News.
Stephen G. Handy, Deseret News marketing director, said, "We are the only newspaper to host an entire statewide spelling bee. Other media outlets in other states sponsor only a portion of their state due to population dispersal, etc. As a result, we are always excited to send the best speller in Utah to participate in the national spelling contest."
The Deseret Newspaper in Education Department is also an aid to Utah educators through programs and services such as weekly sets of classroom newspapers at a discounted rate, accompanied by a question and answer Newsquiz; numerous newspaper curriculum guides for classroom; educational sections; workshops, seminars; weekly Young Ideas page featuring student submissions; the Stock Market Made Easy III Game. The biggest day of the year for the NIE department this year will be No Books Day on March 4. Students across the state will exchange their textbooks for the Deseret News in a daylong learning experience. If students or teachers have questions, please call 237-2172.