One word stood between Jared Lazar, a fourth grader at Hoboken Charter School, and first place in the Hoboken Rotary Club’s Second Annual Spelling Bee.
The word: abandon.
“A-B-A-N-D-O-N…”
Lazar nailed it, to applause. The fourth grader took home a $100 gift card to Barnes and Noble, along with bragging rights as the best fourth grade speller in all of Hoboken.
The spelling bee, which was presented by the Hoboken Rotary Club, took place at the Hoboken Catholic Academy on the evening of Nov. 16.
A new idea for Hoboken
Noelle Tate, a member of the Rotary Club, thought up the idea for the spelling bee just a few years ago.
“We were brainstorming,” Tate said. “We give dictionaries to third graders and I thought, ‘Why don’t we have the spelling bee with the fourth graders?’ ”
”A lot of these kids don’t know each other, but in a few years they could all be best friends in high school.” – Richard Marsh, president of the Rotary Club
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“It’s fun and educational,” Tate said. “Parents love it, and the kids get excited for it.”
Children from Wallace Elementary School, Thomas G. Connors Elementary School, Stevens Cooperative School, Hoboken Academy, Hoboken Charter School, Salvatore R. Calabro Elementary School, and The Mustard Seed School sent their top three spellers from the fourth grade classes.
Going to the show
Each school first had their own “in house” spelling bee to decide who would go to the big show at the Hoboken Catholic Academy Gym.
Richard Marsh, the president of the Hoboken Rotary Club, believes even though the event is in its infancy, it has quickly caught on in Hoboken.
“It’s a really feel-good thing,” Marsh said. “A lot of these kids don’t know each other, but in a few years, they could all be best friends in high school.”
A total of 21 students took part.
Marsh believes the spelling bee “filled a void” in Hoboken. The citywide contest is the only one of its kind in Hoboken. Some third grade students on the way out told their parents they were looking forward to participating next year.
Third and second
The spelling contestants breezed through the early rounds with words like “roll” and “aloud,” but as the later rounds approached, students who were eliminated from competition exited stage right to a seated area, where they were greeted with a handshake and a certificate.
Luca Conneta from Stevens Cooperative School finished in third place and took home a $25 gift card to Barnes and Noble.
Michelle Tu of Wallace Elementary finished in second and was the recipient of a $50 gift card to Barnes and Noble.
A painful molar
The fourth-place finisher, who went home with a certificate but just missed the gift card giveaway, said he had a good time at the spelling bee.
“I was confident and wasn’t that intimidated,” said Austin Inhulsen.
Inhulsen wasn’t able to sink his teeth into the correct spelling of his last word.
“I got the word molar, I thought it was spelled with an ‘e’,” Inhulsen said. “But I had a good time.”
Inhulsen agrees that a lot of preparation went into the event, as he had studied various words from the dictionary with his family every day.
The Hoboken Rotary Club was founded over 80 years ago, and was started to further the goals of community service, international understanding, health, and literacy, according to the Hoboken Rotary Club website. The Hoboken club has over 45 current members.
Meetings are held the first three Tuesdays of every month at 12:15 p.m. at The Brass Rail Restaurant and Bar located at 135 Washington St.
Ray Smith can be reached at RSmith@hudsonreporter.com.