Watertown Youngsters Test Their Skills at the Town-wide Spelling Bee [Video]

Dozens of young students teamed up to test their spelling chops Sunday during the third annual Town-wide Spelling Bee at Watertown Middle School.

The event raises money for the Watertown Education Foundation, which hands out grants to teachers and others in the Watertown Public Schools, said Amy Donohue, president of the WEF.

"Last year we raised close to $18,000 from the spelling bee," Donohue said. "This year we are looking for the same."

The money raised at the event, combined with funds from the Team Trivia Night in the spring allowed the WEF to hand out more than $20,000 in grants last year (see the list of grants in the photos to the right).

"The grants go for anything that the school budget cannot afford," Donohue said. "We look for something that is inspiring for a whole grade, not just a couple kids.

"We want it to impact a whole grade level, or all three elementary schools or the whole middle school or high school."

One of the biggest grants last year went to provide iPads at the elementary schools, Donohue said. The WEF donated $4,000 for the tablet computers.

Some money was raised through the $20 per student entry fee, but the foundation also received donations from many people, businesses and organizations in Watertown, Donohue said. (See the list of donors below)

For the first time this year the winners of the fifth-grade spelling bee received a prize. Belmont Savings Bank donated $50 for each member of the winning team, Donohue said.

The list of winners can be found below, and click on the video on the right to see some of the action from the Spelling Bee.

Major Sponsors: 

Beth Kurth, Kurth & Co.

State Rep. John Lawn

William and Anni Clark

Town Councilor John Donohue

Donna and William O'Brien

Watertown Police Association

Watertown Fire Association

David Downes

David Siegel and Erika Geeter

Dunkin Donuts/Riverside Management Group

Corporate Sponsors:

Aqua Solutions

Donohue's Bar & Grill

Belmont Savings Bank

McGeough Lamachhia Realty Inc.

Winters Company Plumbing and Heating

Watertown Rotary Club

Toyota of Watertown

Staples Copy & Print Shop

Realty Executives

Watertown Ford

Critter Control

Mount Auburn Hospital

Ideal Fence

Cimino Brothers

Express Tire

Three Sons Auto Body

Rockland Trust

Three Twins

Guaranteed Rate

Miller/Tracy Children's Foundation

McDonald, Rockwell, McDonald Funeral Service

This year's winners are:

GRADE ONE

All Teams

Grade TWO

The Bruins are BAck
Riley Donlan Lowell
Matt Tuccinardi, Lowell
Jeffrey VArgas, Lowell

The Queens Bees
Kira, Walker, Hosmer
Eden Sally, Hosmer
Esther Walker, Hosmer

The Wolves
Lucas Ng, Hosmer
Koji Obara, Hosmer
Marcos Portz, Hosmer

The Buzzy Cats
Carina Delorio, Cunniff
Aminatta Jallow, Cunniff
Teagan Shaughnessy, Cunniff

The Bos Bees
Ben Kullman, Lowell
Owen LAwn, Cunniff
Stephen Chen, Cunniff


THIRD GRADE

Multi -Maniac Spellers
Zachary Paquette, Cunniff
Jacob Deveikes, Cunniff
Michael Comier, Cunniff

Bright Bees
Hailey Kaufman, Hosmer
Sophia Noble, Hosmer
Lara Cordeiro, Hosmer

Peace
Hamna Sajid, Hosmer
Alize Kamkaew, Hosmer
Moses Davis, Cunniff

FOURTH GRADE

Alpha Bees
Ryan Leonard, Hosmer
Kaue Leal, Hosmer

Cheese Bees
Rita Hackett, Hosmer
Chirstina Zouein, Hosmer
Sabreena Shah, Hosmer

The Triple A Plusses
Iona Fleming, Lowell
Emma Franklin, Lowell
Lana Taffel, Lowell

Spellers of the Iron Fist
George Lithotomos, Lowell
Daniel Stefano, Lowell
Parsca Tehrani, Lowell

FIFTH GRADE

First place  

USURPER MONOCLE
Jawad Alhady, Lowell
Amer Alhady, Lowell

Second Place  

THE MAD SPELLERS
Devon Breen, Lowell
Evan Fleischer, Lowell
Maximo Archila, Lowell

Third Place  

Spunky Spellers
Celia Robinson, Hosmer
Ashley Nygren, Hosmer
Kayla Olershoun, Hosmer