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34th Annual Daily Item Regional Spelling Bee Bigger Than Ever

Date Published: March 11, 2019

Author: Steve Krause

LYNN — What do you do when you’re handed a list of almost 100 contestants for a spelling bee that — just a year earlier — had barely over 50?

That’s what the coordinators of this year’s 34th annual Daily Item Regional Spelling Bee had to think about this year.

As it turns out, the region cuts a wide swath. Beyond The Item’s core circulation area, finalists in Wednesday’s contest at Lynn City Hall Auditorium come from places such as Leominster, Mattapoisett, Ashburnham and Maynard.

This is because as other sponsors discontinued their participation, The Item picked up the slack. As a result, 110 schools in the commonwealth came under the paper’s umbrella, with 94 of them, with students ranging from the third to eighth grades, crowning individual champions.

Last year, with 54 participants, the bee, which starts at 5 p.m., and for which admission is free, ran past 9:30 p.m. With almost twice as many, the coordinators believed it was necessary to add another level to the competition to pare the list of contestants to 61.

Each school winner was given a 40-word written exam, said Susan Conti, controller of the Essex Media Group and main coordinator.

“Those words were difficult,” she said. “And the thing of it was that each child was asked to spell all 40 words. It’s not like the oral portion, where you may have to spell far less words as the rounds progress, and you may get lucky and get a word you’re familiar with.”

Conti noted that children prepare for these spelling bees as diligently as a football player may train for a season.

“These children study,” she said. “They want to go to Washington.”

The winner of Wednesday’s contest will compete in the Scripps National Bee in Washington later this year. Among the prizes are: a round-trip plane fare to Washington, D.C.; a week’s hotel accommodations at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center; spending money for winners and chaperones; a one-year subscription for the Britannica Online Premium encyclopedia; The Samuel Louis Sugarman Award; a one-year subscription to the Merriam-Webster unabridged dictionary; a $100 Amazon gift card; and Valerie’s Spelling Bee Supplement — NEW “Animal Wards.”

Co-sponsoring the event, along with The Item, are Joel and Mary Abramson of Swampscott, owners of Flagship Travel. Other sponsors include the city of Lynn; Fauci’s Pizza, Lynn; Dunkin’ Donuts, Lynn; KFC, Lynn; and Park Press, Saugus.

Other coordinators are Carolina Trujillo, director of community relations for Essex Media Group; Laurie Kennedy, manager of financial relations, KIPP Academy; and Ernie Carpenter, director of sales and business development for Essex Media Group.

Pronouncer is Christopher Estrella of KIPP Academy, and judges are Steve Krause, writer-at-large for The Item; and Adrianna Hernandez and Callum Nelson of KIPP.

Other volunteers include Lynn Ward 5 Councilor Diana Chakoutis and Lynn School Committeewoman Lorraine Gately.

Contestants are to arrive at City Hall between 3:30 and 5 p.m. for registration and a meal. Joel Abramson will welcome them at 5, followed by remarks by Mayor Thomas M. McGee and Lynn School Superintendent Dr. Patrick Tutwiler and 2018 winner Will Robson.

The competition will begin at 5:20. The event is open to the public, and Dunkin’ Donuts will provide complimentary coffee and hot chocolate.

The finalists (with the words they spelled correctly to win their school competitions): Audric Adonteng, Grade 7, St. Anna School, Leominster (cologne); Reem Ahrabar, Grade 5, Aborn School, Lynn (rivulets); Arjav Akkole, Grade 8, Eleanor N. Johnson Middle School, Walpole (transcendental); Gavin Anderson, Grade 5, South Elementary School, Hingham (impregnable); Toni Asenuga, Grade 4, Covenant Christian Academy, Peabody (hydrogen); Julie Baker, Grade 7, Montrose School, Melrose (heliocentric); Jayden Barnaby-Feldhus, Grade 5, Westminster Elementary, Westminster (conservatory); Ella Benedetto, Grade 6, Village School, Marblehead (balsam); Sylvie Benson, Old Rochester Regional School, Mattapoisett (fascist); Massimo Bottari, Grade 8, Veterans Middle School, Marblehead (fascist); Ashlinn Broderick, Grade 8, Overlook Middle School, Ashburnham (Babylon).

James Carven, Grade 8, Fowler School, Maynard (dissertation); Shaylan Chawda, Delphi Academy, Milton (listening); Trisha Cherukuri, William H. Galvin Middle School, Canton (ricotta); Maxine Crays, Grade 8, South Shore Charter Public School, Norwell (Patagonia); Lily Eattimo, Grade 8, Benjamin Franklin Classical Charter Public School, Franklin (mortgage); Arianis Garcia, Grade 5, Edward A. Sisson, Lynn (pad Thai); John Gengozian, Grade 6, Our Lady’s Academy, Waltham (inertia); Sara Granados, Grade 4, Hill Elementary School, Revere (salutation); Caleb Gray, Grade 7, Groton Dunstable Regional Middle, Groton (asservation).

Collette Heil, Grade 6, Johnson School, Nahant (majestic); Liah Hill, Grade 4, South Street Elementary, Fitchburg (youthful); Julia Ho, Grade 8, Lynnfield Middle School, Lynnfield (rheumatic); Aliya Holden, Grade 5, Turkey Hill Elementary, Lunenburg (disembark); Teo Hood, Garfield Middle School, Revere (Xanadu); Maegan Horrigan, Grade 6, Monsignor Haddad Middle School, Needham (eviscerated); Tripp Hull, Grade 4, Stanley School, Swampscott (nuggets); Marcus Irwin, Grade 6, St. John’s Preparatory School, Danvers (kelpies); Alejandro James, Grade 5, McKay Arts Academy, Fitchburg (lobelia); Julian Jarjour, Grade 7, Breed Middle School, Lynn (chilblains); Mahnoor Kazi, Grade 6, The Islamic Academy For Peace, Methuen (aphorism); Hansika Kommanavancha, Grade 7, Luther Burbank Middle School, Lancaster (asservation); Catherine Koran, Grade 8, Foxborough Regional Charter School, Foxborough (fraught); David Kossol Rorth, Grade 5, Garfield Elementary School, Revere (Xanadu); Annie Kurdzionak, Grade 6, Congress Street Home Learning, Stoneham (eviscerated); Lena Le, Grade 4, Paul Revere, Revere (flambeau); Joshua LeGrand, Grade 5, Briggs Elementary, Ashburnham (sumptuous); Kieran Lunn, Grade 6, Lunenburg Middle-High School (6-12), Lunenburg (ganache).

Cody Maguire, Grade 5, Julia F. Callahan, Lynn (medicinal); Allison Maheux, Grade 8, Bird Middle, East Walpole (valise); Hakim Malki, Grade 7, Rumney Marsh Academy, Revere (fulcrum); Beatrix Martin-Epstein, Grade 4, Clarke School, Swampscott (electrolysis); Yvana Masse, Grade 8, Pickering Middle School, Lynn; Joseph Masterson, Grade 8, St. Michael Elementary School, North Andover (lobelia); Katherine McDonagh, Grade 8, Littleton Middle School, Littleton (vicarage); Chloe Mitchell, Grade 7, Florence Sawyer School, Bolton (mortgage); Rana Mrabbi, Grade 4, Beachmont Veterans School, Revere (recognition); Zayana Nadeau, Grade 7, Marblehead Community Charter Public School, Marblehead (phalanx); Daniel Nelson, Grade 5, Johnny Appleseed, Leominster (wastrels); Alexandra Ning, Grade 6, Norwell Middle School, Norwell (pad Thai); Rohit Paradkar, Grade 8, John D. Runkle, Brookline (kaleidoscope).

Isha Patel, Grade 7, Holten Richmond Middle School, Danvers (tagine); Jack Peterson, Grade 6, John G. Whittier School, Haverhill (podium); Ananya Pinnamaneni, Academy of Notre Dame, Tyngsboro (procession); Ranjana Ramesh, Grade 8, Ste. Jeanne D’arc Elementary School, Lowell (doubloons); Gavin Rua, Grade 8, Susan B. Anthony Middle School, Revere (irked); April Rust, Page Hilltop School, Ayer (indelible); Taranpreet Singh, Higgins Middle School, Peabody (furlong); Ina Soini, Grade 6, St. Bernard’s Elementary School, Fitchburg (whiplash); Amelia Stank, Grade 5, Capt. William G. Shoemaker, Lynn (stylish); Christian Stanley, Grade 5, EJ Harrington, Lynn (medicinal); Seamus Swift, Grade 6, Rockport Middle, Rockport (irked); Thalan Thongchanh, Grade 5, William P. Connery, Lynn (irked); Daileny Torres, Thurgood Marshall Middle, Lynn (dissertation); Perry Whitmore, Grade 4, Day Elementary, Westford (figment); Lillian Wyckoff, Grade 8, Sky View School, Leominster (antecedents).

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