SPELLING “IN VOGUE” AT POTTSTOWN MIDDLE SCHOOL

Upon spelling the word “VOGUE” correctly in the 12th round of competition, eighth grader Abigail Richter became the Pottstown Middle School spelling bee champion. The pressure was on as she competed with 25 other students at an assembly attended by the entire middle school student body and staff along with a number of very supportive parents. After eight rounds of competition, Abigail found herself in a head-to-head spell-off with runner-up London Aquino. It took an additional four rounds of back and forth spelling expertise to crown Abigail the champion. The 25 contestants earned their way to center stage by taking part in an initial 20 word Scripps Spelling Bee test. Students who spelled the most words correctly were invited to participate in the competition. The master of ceremonies for this year’s event was teacher Dee Pettine. Word announcer and coordinator of the event was Kim Petro. Judging was done by teachers Mary Ann Hill, Angela Wagner, and Desiree Schwoyer. Ms. Petro said, “It is exciting to see our students energized and their competitive juices flow in this academic competition. This is another way that we can encourage students to take advantage of the educational opportunities provided them.” Participating students included: Minyon Beasley, Francisco Cuascut, Evan DeBlase, Jacob Eames, Carlos Fuentes Brown, Andrew Green, Tyler Hall, Avery Heverly, Kiersten Heverly, Ceara Jackson, Yakeem Jackson, Samiyah Jones, Sabrina Lias, Kiaire Major, Diavonna Mojica, Jimmy O’Donnell, Alix Stewart, Julian Weber, Abby Welder, Jordan White, Kimberley Wilkinson, Lucas Wingard, and Harrison Wolf. Abigail’s next competition will be the Times Herald Spelling Bee held in Norristown. Should she be successful in that event, she will represent Pennsylvania at the Scripps National Spelling Bee held in Washington, D.C.