Lincoln Elementary is still buzzing after the second annual spelling bee, a friendly competition that saw the students take the spotlight as parents and faculty watched from the audience.
The school spelling bee was held Friday, Jan. 13 at 9:30 a.m. in the auditorium of the school. 40 students participated in the event, from grades three to eight.
Language arts and literature teacher Inaya Jaafar first coordinated the event last year.
“I like to watch [spelling bees] myself,” said Jaafar, who registered the school in the Scripps National Spelling Bee. With the hype from last year’s competition still echoing around the school halls, Jaafar found it easy to get support for this year’s contest.
The faculty judges were Erin Stinson, Chris Tetro, and Donna Iannaconi, who also served as the announcer.
The winning word was “miscellaneous.”
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The spelling bee is held to raise money for the school and to provide the students with an fun, yet educational experience.
“We raised a lot of money,” said Jaafar. “It’s a great success. The parents love to come and see the kids.”
Forty students were selected from a classroom performance test. Parents were encouraged to pledge an amount of money per each word their child spelled correctly. The more words the students were able to spell correctly, the more likely they were to earn a spot in the competition.
According to Vice President Frank Bafumi, a third grade student not only made it into the competition, but also was able to place in the top 15.
The PTA also threw the students a pizza party after the spelling bee.
The contest
Kevin Bacallao placed first for the second year in a row. He received a trophy and a $100 gift certificate to Target. His winning word was “miscellaneous.” He will also appear compete in the county spelling bee Saturday, Feb 11 at New Jersey City University.
“Being able to win two years in a row was an honor,” said Bacallao. “To win this again is like a second opportunity to redeem myself [at the county competition].”
Aya Hourani placed second, and received a plaque and a $75 gift certificate to Target.
“I found it fun to be in the spelling bee,” said Hourani. “It was also quite challenging. I hope next year I’ll do better.”
Mellina Sihombing placed third, and received a $50 gift certificate to Target.
“I was nervous,” said Sihombing. “It was my first time being on stage.”
Sihombing was eliminated on the word “tardigrade,” which is a tiny clawed animal.
“I was proud of myself for winning third place,” continued Sihombing.
Bafumi expressed his pride for each of his students. His task in the bee was to reward the top three contestants.
“I was lucky enough to stand there and present all the students with certificates for participating,” said Bafumi.
Jaafar thanked Bafumi, Principal Arlene McGowan, and the Board of Education for the support.
“We were able to do this because of their support,” said Jaafar, mentioning that she hopes to find a sponsor for next year’s competition. “I hope for another successful [event] next year.”
For more information on the spelling bee, call the Lincoln School at (201) 295-2850.
Stephen LaMarca may be reached at slamarca@hudsonreporter.com.