Embarrassment spells success

Andrew Edwards

“Winner” was spelled R-Y-A-N on Monday at Golden View Elementary

School.

After more than an hour of competition, 11-year-old Ryan Villet

emerged as the school’s spelling-bee champion on Monday. The

fifth-grader was the top speller out of 96 fourth- and fifth-grade

students who vied for the title.

Ryan’s favorite part of the win he said, was “the applause when I

beat all the people.”

He took the win as the only student in the final three to

correctly spell “embarrassment.”

Second place went to 10-year-old Rocio Soleto, and third to

11-year-old Rick Thellman.

“I kind of studied a little bit, but I felt confident because I

know how to spell words,” Rocio said.

At the start of the spelling bee, the competitors stood in a

circle in a large room while the rest of the fourth- and fifth-grade

classes watched from the floor. Teacher Christine Earl circled the

room with a microphone for the competitors, while teacher Christine

Frasco read out the words.

“We’re very proud of everyone who has the courage to come out and

try,” Frasco said as she opened the competition.

In the middle the room, a three-person panel of judges let each

student know if they survived for another shot at the title or if it

was time to bow out. Speech and language teacher Larry Bennett,

special education aide Rayleen Fehser and bilingual aide Nikolai

Alvarado gave the contest a Roman touch by signaling a thumbs-up or

thumbs-down after each child’s effort.

The spelling bee got off to a simple start, as 11-year-old Cameron

Julien nailed the first offering, “tan.” But as Earl went from

student to student, Frasco challenged the students with longer words

with spellings that proved tricky for some of the children.

Selections like “scissors,” “juicy,” and “business” each knocked a

few children out of the game.

The toughest word was refrigerator. Before 12-year-old Micaela

Niezan got the spelling down cold, 23 children spelled the word

incorrectly.

“I was a little nervous but I knew how to spell it,” Micaela said,

smiling after her success.

Another challenge was “privilege,” after the competition was

narrowed to 18, none of the remaining contestants spelled the word

correctly. Without a clear victor, the students got another chance

and competition resumed with the word “accustomed.”

The spelling bee is an annual tradition at the school, and the top

three spellers each wore a ribbon on their shirts to mark their

achievement. As the first-place winner, Ryan’s name will be engraved

on a plaque honoring past champions.