Fifth-grade spelling-whiz heads to district bee.
By: Elaine Worden
Christina Mattina is a spelling aficionado. A fifth-grader at Woodland Elementary, Christina has whizzed through two school spelling bees, advanced to the Junior Woman’s Club of the Greater Brunswick Area’s eighth annual Spelling Bee, where she placed sixth, and is now headed onto the General Federation of Women’s Clubs – Junior Membership District Bee in February.
Woodland first held a spelling bee in each of its six fifth-grade classes. The winner of each class then went on to compete against one another in a spelling bee held in the cafeteria. The winner then had the opportunity to go on to the Junior Woman’s Club bee, which was held at the Middlesex County Vocational High School in East Brunswick. And the lucky winner just happened to be Christina.
"I was pretty nervous," Christina said of the spelling bee, where she was up against 36 other students from area communities.
The audience was packed with parents and other children, she explained. However, she did have her own personal support group cheering her on.
"Half the kids in my class came to see me in the spelling bee," said Christina.
Out of the 36 children, Christina came in sixth place and is one of the top finalists. She now moves onto the GFWC District bee. If she finishes in the top three of that bee, she has a chance to compete at the Junior Woman’s Club State Spelling Bee, which will be held in March.
"The hardest word I had to spell was cholesterol," said Christina, who was awarded a certificate for her excellent spelling. "Most of them were pretty easy."
The easiest word that she was asked to spell was "himself," Christina said.
Christina, whose favorite subjects are math and science, aspires to be a veterinarian when she grows up. She said she has always been good at spelling and memorization.
Although this has been her first time mingling in the world of spelling bees, it’s obvious she’s a natural.
"In first-grade there was a spelling bee in the class and I won, but it was really easy," she said.
Christina masters her repertoire of words by studying with her mom. No flashcards or fancy study methods are used. Instead, Christina just works off a list of words and her mom will rattle off the words and ask her how to spell each one.
Christina, who admitted to being a smidge nervous but is still excited about her upcoming bee, will be bringing along her parents to cheer her on.
Now she is preparing for the next bee. She was given a sheet of words to study, and with the help of her mom she is working on mastering each one.
Certificates will be handed out to all of the participants and winners of the district’s February bee, which will be judged by various Junior Woman’s Club members throughout the area.

