[ccfic caption-text format="plaintext"]
On Friday, January 5, more than 270 Westwood 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders, plus families and friends, braved arctic temperatures to make their way to Westwood High School for an afternoon of tense excitement at the Foundation for Westwood Education’s 22nd annual spelling bee. All three- and four-person teams had picked distinctive names for themselves and had studied long lists of words. Many came to the bee dressed in shirts, hats, or entire ensembles bearing their teams’ creative names. Competition was fierce but fun; some successfully spelled words were so difficult that audible gasps emanated from the audience.
Emily Parks, Superintendent of Westwood Public Schools, moderated the third grade bee. Winners of the bee were members of the “Common Bombus” team from the Hanlon School: Elyse B, Claire K, Emma K, and Duanmu J. The winning word was “bungalow.”
Fifth grade bee winners ‘Green Machine’ pose with bee moderator Allison Borchers, assistant superintendent of Westwood Public Schools.
Moderator Sean Bevan, principal of Westwood High School, with ‘ADIDAS – All Day I Dream About Spelling,’ the winning team of the fourth grade spelling bee.
Winners of the fourth grade bee, from the Sheehan School, were the “ADIDAS – All Day I Dream About Spelling,” with team members Liam W, Ryan W, Harrison H, and Nolan C. Sean Bevan, Principal of Westwood High School, moderated the bee. The winning word was “interesting.”
Fifth grade bee winners were “Green Machine” with team members Colin G, Joseph C, and Rocco W from the Sheehan School. Allison Borchers, Assistant Superintendent of Westwood Public Schools, moderated the fifth grade bee. The winning word was “pueblo.”
