Upon spelling the word elixir, Nicholas Irvin, an 8 th grade student, became the Pottstown Middle School’s annual spelling bee winner. The event took place on February 1st and was witnessed by middle school staff and students as well as a large contingent of supportive parents. The MC for the Spelling Bee was Maureen Russell and the Word Announcer was Kim Adamski. Judges include Mary Ann Hill, Lois Sanders, and Desiree Schwoyer.
It took 13 grueling rounds for Irvin to be named the top speller of the school. With a total of 17 students competing, the task was not an easy one.
Students throughout the middle school were initially given a test using 20 words from the Scripps Spelling Bee list. The students who spelled the most words correctly were then invited to participate in this year’s spelling bee. Students were also required to meet Scripps eligibility requirements.
Seventeen students in grades 6, 7 and 8, accepted the challenge. These students included: Christian Brown, Soaad Elbahwat, Esperanza Perez, Ma Sofia Sosa, Mahmood Annable, Justin Beasley-Turner, Denkera Chestnut, Hunter DeBlase, Nathan Kugler, Vaughn Bertoti, Cara Cabot, Briahna Gerloff, Nicholas Irvin, Nicolas Muriel, Dylan Mauger, Avondre Nascimento, and Angelina Schaff.
Participants met weekly during the six weeks leading up to the Bee to practice the hundreds of words supplied and enjoy some friendly competition. Spelling Bee coordinator Kim Adamski provided much needed support and encouragement during these sessions.
Irvin was deemed the winner after going head to head with runner-up Nicolas Muriel for the last 4 rounds of the competition. He will go on to participate in the Times Herald Spelling Bee to be held in Norristown on March 11, 2011.
Should Irvin succeed in Norristown, he will then compete in the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C in May.
