Dylan Thompson hunkers down to spell a championship word, while Anthony Kaskurs awaits his turn.
Dylan Thompson and Antony Kaskurs went back and forth for quite some time this morning, until Dylan successfully spelled “parable” and then “mosquitoey” to come out the champion of the school spelling bee.
The Fourth through Eight Graders took part in class bees several weeks ago to select 22 qualifiers at the school bee, which started at 9:45 a.m. in the school cafeteria. Elementary and middle school students as well as members of the public filled the cafeteria to overflowing. Judges Chris Sutton, Jenny Pederson, Nina Couchman, Lance Evans and Kyle Freeman ruled on the students’ attempts to spell words such as “ammonia” and “hiatus,” which were unsuccessfully attempted at the final spell-off between Dylan and Anthony.
In winning the school contest, Dylan won a gift certificate from Darvill’s, a year-long subscription to Encyclopedia Britannica online, and sponsorship for transportation and hotel stay to the regional contest in Burlington next month.
As second-place winner, Anthony won a gift certificate from Enzo’s and a year-long subscription to Encyclopedia Britannica online.
PTSA President Barb Skotte said, “The PTSA is proud to have sponsored our schools’ participation in this year’s Scripps Spelling Bee. Many students participated in an afterschool Spelling Club for the last several months, learning words, strategies and taking part in mock bees.
“Thank you to donors All Islands’ Inspection, Enzo’s, Islanders’ Bank, Stoltz/Kau Architects, Teezer’s, West Beach Resort and White Construction Co. for their generous donations. Special thanks to Tim Hance for his vision and drive in making this year’s bee a reality!”
