Seferian Wins Spelling Bee Championship at Washington School
There was tension, excitement and fun during an afternoon spelling bee contest for Washington Primary School second graders. After a series of grueling rounds, Andreas Seferian was crowned champion after he correctly spelled the word "goulash."
The contest serves to highlight reading, grammar and spelling and heightened the interest of students in each of these areas. The annual competition was created by teacher Tim Pillion, who presided over the finals, just as he's done in three of the previous four years.
Students qualified for the finals through earlier rounds conducted in their respective classrooms. With their classmates watching, the finalists sat on chairs on the school stage until their name was called. When it was their turn, contestants stood at a lectern as Mr. Pillion called out this year's words.
Tension mounted as contestants finally started to fall. Finally, the battle came down to just two competitors, Mr. Seferian and classmate Alexa Splendorio, who finished in second place. The two students both came from teacher Maria Lanzot's dual language class.
"I really liked competing," Mr. Seferian said. "It was exciting to win." Anna Wickey captured last year's title when she correctly spelled the word "business." Ryan Hoffman won the crown in 2009 after acing spelling of the word "pasture." Current fifth grader Nicholas Inman won the spelling bee crown in 2008 when he spelled out "eclipse." In 2007, Sarah James took top honors after she accurately spelled "giraffe." Students look forward to the event in the weeks leading up to it.
Mr. Seferian name will be engraved on a plaque that already contains the names of the past four second grade spelling bee champs. It is affixed to a wall in the main lobby of the school.
Contestants said they had a great time battling wits with one another. "It's always nice to mix fun and learning," Principal Marsha Neville said.