Principal Roxani Kay of San Pedro Roman Catholic School has been named the Zone leader for this portion of the contest. Mrs. Kay informed the San Pedro Sun that six schools from San Pedro and Caye Caulker will participate and be represented by two students from each school. The two final spellers will then move on to District competition, which will be held at the Holy Redeemer Parish Hall on March 16^th, 2001. The final portion of the contest; the National Level, will be held at the Belize City Centre on May 11^th, 2001 commencing at 9:30 a.m.

    In the six years that this contest has been held, Ambergris Caye was put on the Coca-Cola Spelling Bee map in 1999 when Candice Chavannes of St. Peter's Elementary won the National Championship. Miss Chavannes is now 14 years old and is a Second Form student at Saint Catherine's Academy. Candice is in the choir and is an avid softball player. She uses her 1^st prize computer for schoolwork, exploration and surfing the Internet. Candice loves to read and her favorite subjects are English and Spanish.

    The six schools and their representatives competing in the Caye Zone eliminations are:

San Pedro Roman Catholic School - Byron Acosta and Gladys Urbina, Lydia's Institute of Fine Education - Shamir Guerrero and Miguel Perez, Island Academy - Kiera Bauman and Nash Parker, St. Peter's Elementary -Efrain Campos and Helen Melendez, Caye Caulker Roman Catholic School - Elvis Perez and Trey Maga'a, New Horizons Academy - Daniel Lackwood and Immer Chi.