This is a printer-friendly version of an article from Zip06.com.
01/13/2016 09:30 AMPreparations are underway for the Clinton Education Foundation (CEF) second annual Great Grown-up Spelling Bee on Saturday, March 5, at 7 p.m. at Andrews Memorial Town Hall.
Proceeds benefit the Clinton Education Foundation Scholarship Fund, which provides funding for students and teachers to attend workshops, summer camps, and leadership programs and enables teachers to purchase supplies that are not part of the budget.
CEF board member Melanie Elliot said the spelling bee is open to teams of three (plus an alternate), and creative team names and costumes are strongly encouraged.
“This is a perfect activity for book clubs, neighborhoods, friends, and family,” Elliot said. “We’ve had everyone from Malone’s Sandwich and Coffee House to Clinton Youth and Family Service Bureau participate.”
Sponsorships are also available.
This year’s judges are Jack Cross, Clinton superintendent of schools; Keri Hagness, Morgan School principal; and James Messina, Morgan’s literacy coach. Master of ceremonies is Abraham Pierson School speech and language pathologist Beverly Bowen, who will be choosing which words are used in the competition.
Clinton’s 2012-2013 Teacher of the Year and a self-described “former spelling bee geek who loves words,” Bowen started out as the pronouncer and organizer for the Pierson School Spelling Bee, which takes place later this month.
“This will be Pierson’s fourth year participating in the Scripps National Bee,” she said. “The first year, our students won the regional bee and participated in Washington, D.C.”
As for the Great Grown-up Spelling Bee, she said, “While I use some words from Scripps, I begin perusing the dictionary in January to select just the right words. This year, I may even have some themes. What are they? I’m not telling!”
The competition will be played in rounds, known as swarms. Roughly four teams at a time compete simultaneously onstage during a swarm; team members work together and are given 30 seconds to spell each word. Last year’s list included everything from gynarchy to sauerbraten. Fittingly, the winning word was lachrymose—inclined to shed tears or causing tears.
The 2015 Great Grown-up Spelling Bee drew 25 teams, and CEF expects to hit that target again in 2016. Formed in 2006, the nonprofit raises funds to enhance public school education in Clinton. CEF’s Brett Renfrew Scholarship Program awards stipends for students to pursue personal goals that foster their growth and development. Students have used the scholarship to defray college costs, travel overseas, enroll in summer enrichment programs, develop their artistic talents, and more.
The group’s Albert A. Coviello Educator grants have subsidized the purchase of physical education equipment for the Morgan and Joel schools, software for The Morgan School’s math department, transportation and supplies for interdisciplinary programs at Joel, Amnesty International project workshops, and multimedia programs at the Eliot School.
CEF’s Student Grants Program, for students in grades 3 through 12, has subsidized art, music, and dance study; a summer architectural program at Carnegie Mellon University; and participation in community service programs across the country.
For more information on sponsoring or participating in the Great Grownup Spelling Bee, visit https://sites.google.com/site/clintoncef/ or check out Clinton Education Foundation’s Facebook page.