Sernel, Mech and Berthold
Catherine Sernel, grade 6, Lincoln Middle School, captured the top spot in Park Ridge-Niles School District 64’s recent spelling bee, the first student to become a repeat winner. The championship word, “clementine,” earned her a first place finish on the 22nd round. Emerson Middle School grade 8 student Owen Mech finished second, while Lincoln’s Zoe Berthold, grade 7, placed third.
This year’s bee also featured the introduction of oral vocabulary rounds. At every 5th round (rounds 5, 10, 15, and 20) participants had to select the correct definition of a given word. The pronouncer read a word aloud followed by a vocabulary question and two options (A) and (B) for the student to consider before choosing.
“This academic competition takes students' understanding of words, word parts, and meanings to a whole new level,” according to Meghan Keefer, District 64 Language Arts Curriculum Specialist. “In a battle between nerves and knowledge, the participants showed remarkable perseverance and pride in their achievement,” she added.
Spelling bees were held at all seven schools earlier in January, with the top three spellers from each school earning an invitation to the District competition held at Field School.
Overall, 268 students participated in the bees, which are offered as an extracurricular activity for students in grades 3-8.
The winners of the individual school bees for 2015 were:
- Carpenter – Brandon Griffin, grade 3, Sara Plaza, grade 4, and Sargon Adam, grade 5;
- Emerson – Owen Mech, grade 8, Kenneth Kim, grade 6, and Fallon Adams, grade 7;
- Field – Joseph McDonough and Makala Wilson, both grade 4, and Martyna Golebiewska, grade 5;
- Franklin –Matt Williams and Nathan Brozell, both grade 5, and Arham Rahman, grade 4;
- Lincoln – Catherine Sernel, grade 6, and Zoe Berthold and Charlotte Geier, both grade 7;
- Roosevelt – Alaina Basis, grade 5, and Alex Eng and Brayden Bristle, both grade 4; and,
- Washington – Anthony Giustino and Tommy Locascio, both grade 5, and Sean Stachorek, grade 4.
The District 64 winner moves on to the North Cook area bee on February 3 at Joseph Sears School in Kenilworth, as part of the Scripps National Spelling Bee competition network.
Field School speech pathologist Mary Alice Gilgunn returned as the District Bee pronouncer this year; judges were Carpenter teacher Sue Douglass, Franklin teacher Shirlee Pater, and Keefer.