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Fifty students participate in spelling bee
(by Kathryn A. Burger - January 23, 2008)
The all-purpose room at the
Ann
Blanche
Smith
School in Hillsdale was “standing room only” for the 19th Annual Packack (yes, they spell it with a “k”) Junior Woman’s Club Spelling Bee Final. Fifty students from ten schools in five towns took their places on stage, sitting in long rows facing the audience.
None seemed the least bit fazed by the crowd or the competition to come. All fourth- or fifth-graders, they had participated in bees in their own schools to qualify for this final local competition that would send the top three finishers on to the New Jersey State Federation of Women’s Club’s (NJSFWC) district finals on Feb. 10. The top three winners of that bee will go on to the state finals in March. Top finishers in the state bee go on to the national bee.
As each student came to the microphone, they were given their word. They had to first say, then spell, then say the word. They can ask for a definition and to hear the word used in a sentence. No one was eliminated in the first round and few in the second. After more than an hour, there were still ten students in the competition.
Finally, the field was narrowed to three. The top three spellers were Christian LeBow, a fourth-grader at
Meadowbrook
School in Hillsdale, who came in first. Melissa Gargiulo, a fifth-grader at
George
G.
White
School , placed second and Alexa Ben-Yishay, a fifth-grader at
Roberge
School in River Vale, placed third. All three winners will now compete in the district bee in February.
Tammy Levinson, co-president of the Paskack Juniors, acknowledged with thanks the support of the parents, teachers and administrators of the participating schools, as well as the Commerce Bank in
Park Ridge , that provided prizes for the top three spellers. Special thanks went to the Hillsdale Board of Education for hosting the bee at
Smith
School . “The bee would not be possible without the support of the community,” Levinson said.
For information about membership in the Paskack Junior Woman’s Club, visit www.paskackjuniors.org or write to: PJWC, PO Box 489, Park Ridge NJ
07656.
Kathryn A. Burger's e-mail address is burger@northjersey.com.
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