Fourth-Grade Fist Pumps at Annual Spelling Bee

Cranford fourth-graders lined up along the side wall of the audiovisual room in the Cranford Community Center on Tuesday, waiting their turns to spell words like "eighteen" and "Malaysia."

Ten finalists moved on to compete against 10 of their fifth-grade rivals at the Cranford Junior Women's Club Annual Spelling Bee on Thursday:

Cara Williams
Caroline Kelly
Lauren Santarelli
Garrett Kennedy
Alannah Clarke
Charlie Bernstein
Chloe Levy
Juliana Capro
Maggie Roman
Matthew Ducusin

Correct answers (yes, "c-o-r-r-e-c-t" was also one of the words) were met with fist pumps, muted cheers and fancy footwork as the contestants whirled from the podium and raced past the audience of parents and grandparents to join their peers in line.

Those who spelled incorrectly shrugged, gave a small smile and quickly found a seat by their families.

Past CJWC President Marie Mayer, CJWC Board member Kathy Morgese, past Cranford Jaycees President Jamie Miller, and Cranford resident Mary Beth Sheehan made up the judging panel. Miller served as head judge, calling out the final say for each spelled word.

A long list of rules and guidelines were read at the beginning of the match, making several contestants appear as though they were dozing off, and frightening a few others.

"If we spell the name right and you can't hear it, do we still get it right?" called out one fourth-grader from the back of the room. The judges said not to worry, that the spelling bee was being recorded to set them right, if need be.

Contestants were told to "say the word, spell the word, and then say the word again" in order to successfully pass the judges' table. They ran through a practice round in which each were prompted to say their first name, spell it, and say it again.

Those who win the fourth- and fifth-grade spell off on Thursday will move on to compete at the district level on February 20 and possibly the state level in March.