The Greeneville City School System has announced that it will not have a system-wide Spelling Bee this year.

This decision is related to a change in the rules for the Knoxville News-Sentinel Southern Appalachia Regional Spelling Bee, allowing entries from individual schools.

The Greene County School System has scheduled a system-wide Spelling Bee at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 19, at Mosheim Elementary School.

The winner of the county Spelling Bee will not automatically advance to the Regional Spelling Bee, but registered county schools can send their winners.

According to the Regional Spelling Bee's Web site, "This year, every school enrolled in the program can send their school champion straight to the News Sentinel Southern Appalachia Regional Spelling Bee, which will take place on Saturday, Feb. 27, 2010, in the Alumni Memorial Building on the University of Tennessee-Knoxville campus. School district-wide bees are unnecessary this year.

"The format at the Regional Bee will change to accommodate the increased number of students. We are mimicking what happens at the national level by adding a written test round to the Regional Bee.

"The written test round will take place on the morning of Feb. 27, 2010. The students with the top 50 to 60 scores on the written test will proceed to the oral round of the bee that same afternoon.

"Why the change? Because it will allow us to include more students in the excitement of the Regional Bee, allow for more representation from each district and county, give each school more value for their registration fee and better prepare our regional champion for the national competition.

"This new process also extends the time available for teachers to use the study guide and bee materials in their classes, for students to learn the rules of spelling and for schools to hold their school spelling bee."

School champions must be registered with the Regional Spelling Bee by Jan. 22, 2010.

The winner of the Southern Appalachian Spelling Bee advances to the Scripps National Spelling Bee held in Washington, D.C.

For more information, go to www.knoxnews.com/about/education/spellingbee.