The annual spelling bee has been a Benjamin tradition for a long time, and, according to English Department Chair Mrs. Kathleen Devine, is an important part of the School’s history. The spelling bee is a tradition that was started by the founders of the school, Mr. and Mrs. Marshall Benjamin.

These class spelling bees, which are ongoing this week, are held in all of the middle school English classes, with the two winners from each class moving on to the school spelling bee for the chance to represent TBS at the regional bee.

The school bee will be held on February 20, 2019. “This year we have given students a list of words that will be exclusively used for the classroom spelling bees, and it seems to have drawn more interest and excitement to getting the words correct,” said Devine.

These class bees count as a quiz grade, which ensures that all students try their best, even if they don’t want to compete in the school bee.

“It was fun to compete against my classmates and for it to raise my grade,” said eighth-grader Alexander Fleming Lake, who qualified for the school bee from Devine’s G-period class.

To earn a quiz grade of 100%, each student needs to spell a word correctly in three consecutive rounds. The students that are left after those three rounds then compete until there are a winner and runner-up.

Some students took the class bees seriously and studied for them.

“I studied every night for an hour and 30 minutes, and my work paid off because I ended up winning in my class,” said eighth-grader Owen Nutter, a qualifier from Devine’s B-period class.

The students learn more than just spelling from this event, they also improve their vocabulary, and learn other techniques that can help them later on.

“Studying for spelling is challenging because there are so many rules and regulations to spelling in the English language, and adding foreign words [means] students must rely on knowledge of phonics and derivations to memorize a word cold[ly] because it follows no rules,” said Devine.

The following students qualified for the school bee by placing in the top two spots in their class bees (*note – grade eight did not designate first and second place):

8A – Devine
William Harris and Katia Orsic

8B – Devine
Jessie Holland and Owen Nutter

8E – Devine
Joie Rodin and Emilie Dubiel

8G – Devine
Alex Fleming Lake and Kaylee Wahl-Cox

7A – Ginnetty
Izzy Casher (winner)
Ryan Fitzpatrick (runner up)

7B – Ginnetty
Keane Adam (winner)
Claire Dinh (runner up)

7D – Ginnetty
Chloe Fong – winner (*cedes to Madison Kittendorf for the all-school bee)
Jack Guagliano (runner up; *cedes to Winni Cox for the all-school bee)

7E – Ferguson
Charlie Noble (winner)
Brendan Matz (runner-up)

7G – Ferguson
Zach Neidoff (winner)
Addie Vining (runner-up)

6A – Ponchock
Matthew Schepp (winner)
Athena Lekkas (runner-up)

6B – Ponchock
Ella Bailey (winner)
Mikayla Scotto (runner-up)

6D – Ponchock
Brianna Cousin (winner)
Fredericka D’Loughy (runner-up)

6G – Ponchock
Emily Simon (winner)
Kelly Kutner (runner-up)