Spelling+Bee

=Spelling Bee 2009= [|Click here to view online article]  Thursday, April 16, 2009 marked the annual occasion that Putnam Valley’s youngest spelling enthusiasts look forward to all year—the finals of the PVES Spelling Bee. Eight of the school’s most accomplished spellers—Satoshi Abe, Olivia Schmidt, Peter Leo, Michael Gaitan, Claire Cassidy, Taylor Simpson, Justin Acosta, and Jared Guski— met on the stage of the school’s “Old Gym” auditorium that evening to test their mettle with an enthusiastic group of parents and teachers cheering them on. It’s important to try to remember your own third- or fourth-grade spelling skills when watching this event. Words such as “museum” can be daunting. Words like “majority” and “echoed” can win or lose this contest; and they did, in fact, produce the winner and runner up of this year’s event. Claire Cassidy won the contest by spelling the word "echoed". The runner-up, Satoshi Abe, misspelled “majority,” and Claire went on to spell both “majority” and “echoed” correctly. Parents Laurie Kennedy and Patricia Boltin organized the event, and acted as Moderator and Judge, respectively. Elias Wynshaw, a former Scripps National Spelling Bee semifinalist, and son of a PVES teacher, was the word-reader for the third year in a row. A host of PTA and school volunteers made the evening possible, along with several dedicated local community businesses.