Spell It Out

Story by: Noelle Tate

Photos by Sherry Ruczynski

The Annual Hoboken Rotary Sponsored Spelling Bee took place this past April at Hoboken Catholic Academy. This event gathers the best 4th grade spellers together for a friendly and exciting competition! Founded in 2009 by yours truly, the Spelling Bee was born to encourage literacy and enhance the Rotary dictionary donation program that provides dictionaries to all 3rd graders in Hoboken each year. It takes a lot of hard work to be asked to the Spelling Bee; some schools even have their own bees to select the top 3 for the competition. Participating schools include: HoLa, Wallace, All Saints, TG Connors, Stevens Cooperative, Mustard Seed, Hoboken Catholic, and Calabro. The top four spellers are awarded gift certificates to Barnes & Noble, and 1st place also takes an antique traveling dictionary to their classroom. Ariel Prevor from HoLa placed first, with Hoboken Catholic Academy students Nanki Nagpaul and Emily Cao taking 2nd and 3rd, and Lucas Hjetberg from HoLa winning 4th place. Congratulations to the winners and all participants! ••