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Zoha Panezai wins Munster Spelling Bee
Zoha Panezai wins Munster Spelling Bee – Picture by Darragh Mc Sweeney/Provision
12 year old Zoha Panezai from Limerick School Project, O’Connell Avenue will travel to Dublin on Monday June 20 where she will represent Munster at the Eason All Ireland Spelling Bee Final in the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre.
Zoha beat off stiff competition with nerves of steel when she was crowned the Eason Spelling Bee Munster Champion 2016 at last month’s regional final which kicked off on May 23. ‘Cerebral’ was the word that had defeated her fellow competitors. However, Zoha managed to pull through and spelt the word correctly and won her the competition. Following the competition in the Limerick Strand Hotel, Zoha was interviewed live on the Anton Savage Show on Today FM.
Zoha enjoys reciting words and spelling because it derives from her love of reading.
Commenting on Zoha’s triumph Limerick School Project Principal Orla McCoy says:
“This was a high energy and high pressure competition; not only does Zoha have an excellent ability to recite spellings, she also has nerves of steel. Standing up in front of a live audience and panel of judges is very difficult, and we are very proud of her achievement.”
Zoha’s success in Munster has won €3,000 worth of reading materials from Easons for the Limerick School Project. At the All Ireland Finals Zoha will be competing for a prize worth €7,500.
Limerick School Project celebrated 25 years since it started last year. It was started by a small group of parents from Limerick City who were interested in having a multi-denominational, child centred, co-educational and culturally inclusive school for their children.
From all of us at I Love Limerick we wish Zoha the best of luck!
For updates on the All Ireland Spelling Bee Final Event click here.
For other stories from us on Limerick School Project click here.