November 1, 2021

Dear Sommer Parents and Guardians,

This year, our PTA will sponsor the Scripps National Spelling Bee’s online testing platform to hold our school spelling bee via an online spelling test. The two requirements are that you are a Patsy Sommer student (virtual or on-campus), and you are a member of the Sommer PTA.

The first step to spelling bee participation for your child is registering the week of November 2, 2021, for the online testing platform by visiting https://online-test.spellingbee.com. 

I encourage you to watch this video tutorial that will walk you through the registration process: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ThKRsffiFc

Once you have registered, I will be able to assign the appropriate test to your child. Your child must complete the test before the given deadline, November 8th to 11th, 2021. Tests can be taken on any device with a web browser, including desktop computers, laptops, tablets, and smartphones. Chrome, Firefox, and Microsoft Edge are our preferred browsers. We do not support Safari for desktop or Internet Explorer.

For Grades 2-3, the students from each classroom with the highest score will be recognized as grade level winners and will receive certificates from our PTA for this achievement.

For Grades 4-5, the students from each grade with the highest score will move on to compete at the school level from December 7th to 9th, 2021. This year, our school-level competition will be administered via a virtual spelling bee through Scripps online test. 

Our school champion will then move on to represent Patsy Sommer Elementary in the next level of the Austin regional spelling bee program, which also may include online tests in lieu of in-person spelling bee events. 

Remember, the first step to spelling bee participation is to register at online-test.spellingbee.com. Please register your child at your earliest convenience as I will begin assigning tests to students soon. If you have already registered in the online testing platform for another child, you can log in to your account and add an additional child to that same parent account. There is no need to register a different email address for each child in your household. 

Please reach out to me if you have any questions about our school spelling bee program. I look forward to having your child compete to represent our school! 

Sincerely,

Therese Wafford, M.Ed.

Patsy Sommer Elementary  

Assistant Principal

If you plan to be a Watch D.O.G., go on a field trip, volunteer in the classroom, or work with students, you must complete the online application AND receive approval. Online Volunteer Application. Some helpful tips to remember when submitting your volunteer application:

1. Please complete the entire form.
2. Select the school(s) where you would like to volunteer (you can choose more than one school).
3. Please make sure that you click the SUBMIT button.

Thank you in advance for going through this process. We look forward to you volunteering at our school!