And Then There was One

The Pottstown Middle School students who competed in the school's 7th Annual Spelling  Bee

Upon correctly spelling the word “IMPASSE” in the 21st round of competition, eighth grader Harrison Wolf became the champion of the Pottstown Middle School Seventh Annual Spelling Bee competition. The event included 21 semi-finalists competing in front of more than 1,000 students, staff, and parents.

The master of ceremonies for the event was middle school teacher Dee Pettine. The event was coordinated by word announcer/coordinator Kim Petro, seventh grade language arts teacher. The competition was judged by teachers Mary Ann Hill, Angela Wagner, and Desiree Schwoyer.

Finalists, front from left, Harrison Wolf, London Aquino,
Diavanna Mojica; and, rear, from left, teachers Dee Pettine,
Kim Petro, Mary Ann Hill Angela Wagner and Desiree Schwoyer.

Students throughout the middle school were initially given a test using 20 words from the Scripps Spelling Bee List.

Students who spelled the most words correctly were then invited to participate in this year’s spelling bee competition.

 All students were also required to meet Scripps’ Eligibility Requirements. 

Twenty-one sixth, seventh, and eighth graders chose to accept the challenge and participated in the hotly contested event.

Competitors included: Jovaun Aponte, London Aquino, Grace Bainbridge, Brian DeMarteleire, Jacob Eames, Robbie Fleming, Jordan Go, Andrew Green, Jennifer Hainsey, Samuel Herrera, Avery Heverly, Jalisa Johnson, Sabrina Lias, Skylar Long, Diavanna Mojica, Vanessa Sheeler, Alix Stewart, Abby Welder, Jordan White, Harrison Wolf, and Harmony Wood.

And the winner is...Harrison Wolf, shown here with his mom Amy.

Harrison was named the winner after battling in the final eleven rounds against London Aquino and Diavanna Mojica.

In order to be declared the champion, he first had to correctly spell the word “quiche,” which was missed by his two competitors and then had to correctly spell “impasse.”

Harrison will go on to participate in the Bucks/Montco Scripps Spelling Bee to be held at Pennridge High School on March 28th.

Should Harrison succeed at Pennridge High School, he will then compete in the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C.

“I am very proud of this year’s contestants," said Petro. "It is a tribute to them that the competition went to 21 rounds before a final winner could be declared. This is the seventh annual competition and it has helped to highlight the academic excellence of our students as noted by the fact that our first year’s competitor in 2009, Jasheel Brown, is now a sophomore student at Pennsylvania University.”