Congratulations to the Needham School Committee for taking the top prize at the 2019 Spelling Bee and to the Broadmeadow “Smaht Spellahs” for winning the elementary round!
On Sunday, March 10th the Needham community came together to test their spelling prowess at the 28th Annual NEF Spelling Bee. Over 40 teams participated, including elementary, middle and high school students, teachers, parents, members of Needham community organizations, and local business people.
The afternoon kicked off with Kathy Curran, member of WCVB’s 5 Investigates, helping students film a Wake-Up Call for Channel 5’s EyeOpener (watch the video, here). The NHS a cappella group Making Music Matter then performed the National Anthem beautifully to kick off the Bee. Throughout the ensuing five rounds of spelling, celebrity pronouncers Kathy Curran, Superintendent Dan Gutekanst, and David Wade, co-anchor of WBZ-TV News, kept the event lively and fun.
In the preliminary rounds, the Broadmeadow 5th grade students were the winners in the elementary school round, correctly spelling the word “knowledgeable.” The Broadmeadow and Hillside PTC teams battled for 18 words until Broadmeadow won on “querimonious.” The High Rock team (6th graders) out-dueled 7th grade, 8th grade, and high school teams with the word “gaufrette.” In the Championship round, the Needham School Committee took the big prize after correctly spelling “kakistocracy,” which means “government by the least suitable or competent citizens of a state.”
See coverage of the Bee on the Needham Channel.
