Top spellers earn
honors in contest
FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP — A room at the Monmouth County Library Headquarters, Manalapan, was packed with about 200 people as one by one, fifth-graders took turns spelling words given to them by members of the Noontime Optimist Club of Freehold.
Nervous parents, nervous students, siblings, teachers and principals listened intently during the spelling bee held Feb. 19.
The 50 students from the Freehold Township schools were tough competitors, said Sheila Saul, event chair of the fifth annual spelling bee. It took nearly two hours to whittle the group down to three winners, she added.
The winner was Vicki Shen of the Joseph J. Catena School; second place was taken by Julie Sarte, also from the Catena School; and third place went to Jilyan Decker of the Laura Donovan School.
Stephen Acerra, owner of The Busy BBB’s florist, Freehold Borough, co-sponsored the event. He presented $75, $50 and $25 gift certificates to Barnes and Noble to the three winners. The event was videotaped for broadcast on Freehold Township’s municipal access cable television channel.
Saul said she views the spelling bee as an opportunity for children to build self-esteem.
"In many cases the entrants have older brothers or sisters who had been competitors when they were in fifth grade. In an age when we tend to depend on computer systems to make spelling corrections, an old-fashioned spelling bee puts the buzz back into spelling."