If you caught the 2002 documentary, "Spellbound," about contestants in the National Spelling Bee, you know how cut-throat the world of spelling can be.

The young wordsmiths memorized dictionaries, pulled all-nighters and fretted in every imaginable way preparing for the spelling showdown.

But at the 17th annual New York Spelling Bee, you won't find that kind of competition. It's more about comprehension and learning than it is about rote memorization. Obscure words like euonym, shalloon and antediluvian, have no place in this spelling bee.

This year, 370 students from first to seventh grade will compete in the state spelling bee championship in Port Byron on April 30. Geetha Godishala of Auburn runs the bee and believes it's more about learning good study skills than winning.

"This is good preparation for the SATs. You can't start preparing for the test in eleventh grade. We're hoping that this interests students because of the SAT," she said.

But the students of the Montessori School in Auburn aren't yet thinking about the SATs. Every year, Montessori students participate in the spelling bee. Teacher Diane Bauso, who helps coordinate the school's spelling bee preparation, said for her students, the bee is a multi-facted educational exercise.

"It teaches the students public speaking and how to hold yourself under pressure, as well as spelling," she said.

At Montessori, every child has the opportunity to participate in the bee if he or she chooses and Bauso said all students are encouraged to take part. Each student is signed up to participate, and in Bauso's memory, no student has declined the chance to be involved.

"We make it as fun as we can. There's no pressure, no intimidation," she said.

Montessori's approach to the bee is just what Godishala hoped for when she took over the administration of the bee. Her goal is to make the bee as accessible and welcoming to students as possible. They don't call it a competition, though that is a major element of the bee.

But the competition is really with each individual student. It all comes down to how much preparation and time is put into truly learning the words and their meanings. Competition is secondary to the educational aspect of the bee.

"The spelling bee promotes good study habits and gets kids to look up words and use them in a sentence," Godishala said. "It also helps students work towards a goal and have patience."

Participating students registered for the bee in September and received their study book in December. That means the spellers had five months to prepare before taking the stage.

By then, the Montessori students have already had months of spelling intensives. Every afternoon, from the time the teachers get the study books, to the end of April, the students practice their spelling. Thursdays are mock bee days where the real spelling bee is replicated, even down to the microphone stand that students stand in front of.

Each week, Montessori students get 25 to 45 spelling words a week to learn. At the end of the week, they all take a spelling test.

On Tuesdays, each student has to look up 15 words in the dictionary so that they know not just how to spell the word, but what it means as well. At Montessori, everything is done as a group and every child in the junior school, from first through fourth grade does the same projects, but with different words.

"Spelling is one of the things they ask for now. They're really doing a great job," Bauso said.

One project in particular that gets students fired up about spelling is the storybook project. Once a week for twelve weeks, students get paired up with each other to create stories with their spelling words. The students have an hour to incorporate 10 words into a story, as well design a cover, present their book and have it critiqued. Bauso calls it a "wonderful experience."

"They're so proud of their work. After 12 weeks, we have 12 stories," she said.

While some parents might be reluctant to enter their children in a spelling bee due to the perceived pressure it puts on students, Celene Uczen of Camillus is only too happy to let her eight-year-old daughter, Abby Rose participate. Uczen said her daughter, a Montessori student, was already a "pretty good speller," but that the spelling bee preparation has helped move beyond just memorization.

"This gives them a challenge academically. It teaches them at an early age how to study, how to review, how to memorize," she said.

Uczen helps her daughter study by quizzing her on the week's spelling words and making her say them out loud. Then in turn, Abby Rose quizzes her parents.

"It shows her spelling can be fun," Uczen said.

Reingard Mirza's nine-year-old son, Shadman, no longer thinks of spelling as an exercise to be dreaded thanks to his participation in the annual spelling bee. This year will be the fourth-grader's fourth year participating in the bee.

"He's a good speller, but he doesn't like to practice. But this spelling bee isn't a chore; it's part of a project," Mirza said.

Mirza encourages Shadman to practice, but it's not the end of the world if he doesn't do well during the bee.

"It's not a semi-professional undertaking," she said. "It's just a fun event. Though the real thing is a little nerve-racking."