Sixth annual CAPE Spelling Bee a big success
By Ruth Weiner
The third grade champion Hansen Bengals pose with Superintendent Jeff Granatino (left) and Hansen Principal Peter Boucher.
A packed audience buzzed with excitement at the Canton Alliance for Public Education’s sixth annual Spelling Bee, held last Friday evening in the Canton High School auditorium. Participants of all ages beamed with pride as family members snapped their pictures and cheered their spellers on to potential victory.
Proceeds from the event are channeled into the classroom through CAPE grants, which are distributed twice a year.
“We were delighted by the turnout at the Spelling Bee and by the level of support from our sponsors,” said Spelling Bee Chair Lorena Duggan. “This success was achieved because of the efforts of the many volunteers and the enthusiasm of the participants. There is a special sense of satisfaction in knowing that the funds raised by the bee will go toward school programs that benefit the children of our community.”
CAPE President Cam Reese concurred. “The bee is one of CAPE’s largest fundraisers, generating more than $8,000 in each of the last two years,” he said. “All monies raised support CAPE’s grant program, which enriches the Canton school system.”
First on stage at the bee were the elementary school teams, who sported lively names like Kennedy Braniacs, Hansen Panthers, and Luce Lightning.
Once a word was read aloud by the master of ceremonies for the school groups, Superintendent Jeff Granatino, each team had time to collaborate. The team leader then wrote the agreed upon spelling in large, clear letters on a white board and held it up for approval. On the third misspelling, the team was out.
Early in the third grade round, most teams were defeated by the word devastated. After eight more words, the contest came down to the Hansen Leopards and the Hansen Bengals. Spelling gnarled correctly, the Bengals snapped up the win.
In the next round, the fourth graders spelled seven words perfectly before any team had an error. The anxiety increased. The audience murmured. The battle ended when the Hansen Lions won with the word neuter.
The fifth grade Luce Golden Spellers owned the round, from an early win of the word possessive to their most relevant word, extraneous, which ensured their success.
The eighth grade team swept 16 rounds against the sixth and seventh graders to earn the win with percolate. Student winner Melody Demers said, “Knowing my teammates, I wasn’t nervous. They won last year too.”
Also undefeated after 16 rounds, high school seniors rubbed in the win with the word liniment.
The master of ceremonies for the adult groups was Nick Maffeo, senior vice president of the Canton Co-operative Bank.
In the first adult round, the word piranha devoured the Principals, and renown knocked out the Community Problem Solvers team (an intergenerational group composed of senior citizens and students). For the next nine words, the School Committee and the Hansen School group “All in the Family” vied. Ultimately, dissonance ended the conflict and the Hansen team won.
In round two, the School Administration and the Girl Scouts fell by round 17, while the Luce and JFK CAPTs went head-to-head for eight more rounds until ennoble dignified the win for Luce.
Next, the word moue, which means to pout, stymied all but the Galvin CAPT, who bested the Hansen CAPT and defending champs Music Counts! after all the teams spelled guerilla and pharaoh incorrectly.
The final adult round pitted the Library against the Ponkapoag Civic, the CHS Alumni, and the second Community Problem Solvers group. In the 16th round, the librarians blossomed with jonquil. They went on to win the championship round, spelling gurney correctly.
In celebration, they called the director of the library on a cell phone and the five winners — Mary Owens, Patty Ryburn, Paula Chin, Florence Poznysz, and Carolyn Elkort — sang “We Are the Champions.”
Generous donors for the Spelling Bee included the Bank of Canton, Stop and Shop, Rodman Ford, and the Randolph Animal Hospital. In the spirit of spelling, families and businesses sponsored a letter of the alphabet for $50.
The next special event is CAPE’s spring fundraiser at the Brookmeadow Country Club in Canton on March 9. Timekeeper for the Spelling Bee, Donna Yong, said, “It’s all for a good cause.”
Short URL: https://www.thecantoncitizen.com/?p=11180
Posted by Ruth Weiner
on Jan 25 2012. Filed under News, Schools.
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