Fourth-grader Preston Harris has practiced his spelling for several months, hoping to get more than 50 words correct in a test he’ll take on Friday.
Harris, 10, won’t be in a countywide spelling bee on Friday. He’s participating in the Western North Carolina Braille Challenge, where students from across the region will come to Catawba County to practice their braille literacy against others.
Harris is unable to see out of one eye and has limited vision in the other, said Angela Biggerstaff, an exceptional children’s teacher at Claremont Elementary. She has worked with Harris since he was in second grade.
His third year in the Braille Challenge, Harris will compete in proofreading, reading comprehension and spelling. Some portions involve reading braille, while others involve using his Perkins braille writer. Similar to a typewriter, it has three long thin keys on either side of a space bar, as well as two round keys on either end, which Harris uses to write.
Although Harris has participated in the annual Challenge before, he’s still excited to go.
Harris said he’s been practicing since third grade — the last time he was in the Challenge — but has gotten more serious about it recently.
“I’m reading my take-home reader and my frequent words,” he said.
His motivation for doing well in the Challenge is an airplane he has his eye on. Participants get prizes, including t-shirts, books, a reader and other goodies, Biggerstaff said. Although every child gets something, some of the larger prizes that have been donated are raffled.
“They try to make it fun for them,” Biggerstaff said.
Harris is hoping he gets that airplane. As one of only three boys participating this year, his odds are pretty good.
There are other parts of the Challenge that are fun for the students. There is a breakfast beforehand and a lunch afterward. Biggerstaff said it’s fun for the students to talk to each other, and many email throughout the year. Harris is the only student from Catawba County participating in the Challenge.
Harris admitted he might be a little distracted having other braille writers typing when he is, but he’s still ready for the Braille Challenge. His mother and grandmother will be there to cheer him on before the event, which is held at Catawba Rosenwald Education Center.
“It might be fun on Friday,” he said.
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