FAQs

Here is a list of some common questions about The Courier-Mail's Spelling Bee competition.Click on a question to be taken to the answer below:

1. What are the age requirements to participate in The Courier-Mail Spelling Bee?
2. Is there any cost to enter The Courier-Mail Spelling Bee?
3. Can I be enrolled at either a private school or public school in Queensland in order to enter?
4. Do I need my parent/s and teacher’s permission to enter?
5. What kind of spelling words will be used in The Courier-Mail Spelling Bee?
6. Will the difficulty of the words be varied according to the category or grade in which a player is participating?
7. What are the important dates and deadlines for The Courier-Mail Spelling Bee?
8. What are the prizes on offer?
9. What do I do if I disagree with any decision made by the judges of The Courier-Mail Spelling Bee?
10. What happens to all of the personal information that I provide to The Courier-Mail Spelling Bee?
11. If I get through to the Grand Finals, can I bring my family and friends with me to see me compete?
12. My school is very small and is located in a remote part of Queensland – do I still stand a chance of winning?
13. What kind of computer equipment or internet connection do I need to enter The Courier-Mail Spelling Bee?
14. How many finalists will be able to go through to the Grand Final?
15. Can home school students participate in The Courier-Mail Spelling Bee?
16. How will the semi finals be conducted?
17. What game modes are there?
18. How do I set up my class?

Question : What are the age requirements to participate in The Courier-Mail Spelling Bee?
Answer: Entry to the Spelling Bee is not determined precisely by age. Entry is broken into 3 separate categories, depending on which grade you are in at School.
•    Grades 1 – 3
•    Grades 4 – 7
•    Grades 8 - 12

Question: Is there any cost to enter The Courier-Mail Spelling Bee?
Answer:  No. There is no cost to play or participate in The Spelling Bee. (If you choose to do some practice sessions from home, you will of course need a computer and internet connection).

Question: Can I be enrolled at either a private school or public school in Queensland in order to enter?
Answer: Yes. The Courier-Mail Spelling Bee is available to all primary and secondary schools in Queensland.

Question: Do I need my parent/s or guardian’s and teacher’s permission to enter?
Answer: To participate in the school semi-final rounds you will require your parent/s or guardian’s and teacher’s permission to enter. Your parent/s or guardian’s permission needs to be given to your class teacher or school principal before they can register you to compete. Teachers can download a permission slip on the schools page

Question: What kind of spelling words will be used in The Courier-Mail Spelling Bee?
Answer: The Spelling Bee words are sourced from The HarperCollins Australian Dictionary.

Question: Will the difficulty of the words be varied according to the category or grade in which a player is participating?
Answer: Yes. The levels will be broken into age groups and level of difficulty (easy, medium and hard).

Question: What are the important dates and deadlines for The Courier-Mail Spelling Bee?
Answer: The Courier-Mail Spelling Bee Semi Finals will be conducted online from Monday to Friday, 1st August 2011 to 31st August 2011. The Grand Final will be conducted in person at Dreamworld on the Gold Coast on the 5th October 2011. Further details will be advised closer to the Grand Final date.

Question: What are the prizes on offer?
Answer: Please refer to prizes page. Click here to see what prizes are on offer.

Question: What do I do if I disagree with any decision made by the judges of The Courier-Mail Spelling Bee?
Answer: The judges’ decision in all matters is final.

Question: What happens to all of the personal information that I provide to The Courier-Mail Spelling Bee?
Answer: Information is maintained by The Courier-Mail for audit purposes only. See our Privacy Policy for more information.

Question: If I get through to the Grand Finals, can I bring my family and friends with me to see me compete?
Answer: Yes. If you are not located in the Brisbane area, The Courier-Mail will provide accommodation and flights for a limited number of family members to accompany you. Additional family or friends can attend at their own expense if they wish, subject to the seating capacity of the venue.

Question: My school is very small and is located in a remote part of Queensland – do I still stand a chance of winning?
Answer: Absolutely. There will be weekly random prizes for high scoring students. Selected students who score well in the semi-finals will be flown to Brisbane or Gold Coast (News Queensland will advise) by The Courier-Mail for the Grand Final.

Question: What kind of computer equipment or internet connection do I need to enter The Courier-Mail Spelling Bee?
Answer: The Spelling Bee website will support Internet Explorer 6+, Mozilla 3+ and Apple Safari 3+ browsers

Question: How many finalists will be able to go through to the Grand Final?
Answer: There will 5 finalists in each grade:
•    5 finalists in each of grades 1 – 3
•    5 finalists in each of grades 4 – 7
•    5 finalists in each of grades 8 -12
These students will be selected from a special online test conducted under exam conditions at your school on a given date.

Question: Can home schooled students participate in The Courier-Mail Spelling Bee?
Answer: Because some stages of The Courier-Mail Spelling Bee are conducted under exam conditions in a classroom setting, there is no provision at the moment for home schooled students to fully participate. However home-schooled students who, for the purposes of this competition, are deemed to be undertaking a Grade 1-12 education at home are allowed to enroll and participate in the individual spelling challenges and be eligible to win random prizes.

Question: How will the Semi Finals be conducted?
Answer: The Semi Finals will be conducted online. Each school will be asked to nominate 5 of their best spellers in each of the 3 age categories Grades 1-3, 4-7, 8-12 (max 15 students per school)

Semi finals will be conducted online from Monday August  1- 31, 2011

• To particpate in the semi finals your school will be required to nominate 5 students in each of the 3 age categories (Grades 1-3, Grades 4-7, Grades 8-12)
• To select your school nominees, schools will need to use the school login and they will be asked to select thier students name, school teacher and age category.
• Your school has from August 1 to 31 to select thier semi finalists
• All semi finalists must complete thier semi final games before August 31
• All semi final games must be played during school hour
• Once a semi finalist begins thier semi final games, the school cannot change their selection and add further students to the semi final list
• Finalists for the Grand Final will be announded in Headstart on Tuesday 6th September

Question: What game modes are there?
Answer: There are 3 game modes – Single, player vs player – state, player vs player – class (please refer to how to play page)

Question: How do I set up my class?
Answer: Follow the instructions listed below or download the instructions
1)    To set up your class login using your school id and password.
2)    Click on 'add teacher'
3)    Enter in your first, last name. Press Next.
4)    Enter in your email address and password (please note the system will automatically generate a password but you can change this).
5)    Once you have registered as a teacher, simply log out and log back in with your email address and password
6)    Click ‘add class’
7)    Type your class name and click ‘save’
8)    Click ‘add student’
9)    Add your student details to the form, select a grade and class from the dropdown lists. Click ‘next”
10)    Your student’s username will be generated. You can modify it or leave as is. Click ‘next’
11)    Your student’s password will be generated. You can modify it or leave as is. Click ‘next’
12)    Your student’s full details will display. You can modify or leave as is. Click ‘save”