Hoffmann Wins Spelling Bee Championship at Washington School
An afternoon of high drama played out on the Washington Primary School stage last week as second graders vied in the 2009 spelling bee contest. In the end, Ryan Hoffmann was crowned champion after he correctly spelled the word “pasture.”
The contest served to highlight reading, grammar and spelling and heightened the interest of students in each of these areas. “All of us were amazed they could spell some of the words,” said teacher Tim Pillion, who founded the event two years ago. “I thought the kids did a great job. Everyone had fun. The contest really gets them thinking.”
Students qualified for the finals through earlier rounds conducted in their respective classrooms. With their classmates watching, the 20 finalists sat on chairs on the school stage until their name was called. When it was their turn, contestants stood at a lectern as Mr. Pillion called out this year’s words.
Mr. Hoffmann proved to be a rugged competitor. Fionaleigh Malone finished second. Principal Marsha Neville was on hand to congratulate the champion. Classmates gave each of the contestants a hearty round of applause.
Current third grader Nicholas Inman won the spelling bee title last year when he correctly spelled the word “eclipse.” In 2007, Sarah James took top honors after she accurately spelled “giraffe.” Mr. Pillion said that “it’s a nice end-of-the-year event that everyone looks forward to.”
Mr. Hoffmann’s name will be engraved on a plaque that already contains the names of Mr. Inman and Ms. James. It is affixed to a wall in the main lobby of the school.
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