Student Activities: Spelling Competitions

Left to right, Gaberiel DeFreitas, 1st Place; Jacob Crabtree, 2nd Place; Scott Sundermeir, 4th Place; Alex St. Leger, 3rd Place and Jeanne Lawrence, NPESC

DeFreitas Wins Third Spelling Title

Gaberiel DeFreitas, a seventh grade student at Port Clinton Middle School, won the 17^th Annual Ottawa County Spelling Bee held on February 2, 2010 at the Port Clinton Performing Arts Center. It was Gaberiel’s third county spelling title in three (3) years. Rounding out the top four (4) finishers were: Jacob Crabtree (2^nd Place), a seventh grader at Oak Harbor, Alex St. Leger (3^rd Place), a fifth grader at Port Clinton and Scott Sundermeier (4^th Place), an eighth grader from Oak Harbor.

The four (4) Ottawa County finishers will compete in the Northwest Ohio Championship Spelling Bee which will be held at Owens Community College on March 18. The regional competition is sponsored by the Toledo Blade and is in its twenty-fifth year. The winners of the Northwest Ohio Championship will have the opportunity to advance to the Scripps National Spelling Bee which will be held in Washington D.C. on June 2 ~ 4, 2010.

Six (6) school districts and two (2) parochial systems encompassing fifteen buildings participated in the Ottawa County competition. Students in grades 5 ~ 8 were gradually reduced until the top forty-five spellers in the region were identified and invited to compete in this year’s event.

The February 2^nd Bee was hotly contested extending nearly two (2) hours before the “final four” were declared. The win gave Gaberiel DeFreitas his third crown in three (3) years and sets the stage for him to be the only contestant to win the competition in each year of eligibility. His chance to accomplish this feat will come on February 1, 2011.

The Center wishes to thank B. Jean Fanning (North Point), Sandy Butzin (North Point) and Jeanne Lawrence (North Point), Paula Emery (Toledo Blade) and the Port Clinton Women’s Club for their hard work and assistance with this county competition.

To learn more about the Scripps National Spelling Bee go to www.spellingbee.com.

Fun Fact: Did you know that the French word “connoisseur” has been the most frequently used word on the Scripps National Spelling Bee word lists?