The Central Elementary School student won with the correct spelling of ‘treatment’
It was the royal treatment for Central Elementary School fifth grader Kevin Hoff Thursday night. After 14 rounds of challenging play, Kevin took home first prize in The Haddon Fortnightly fifth-grade spelling bee after successfully reciting the spelling of “treatment” for the judges.
“My hands were trembling,” Kevin said with a small smile, explaining he took deep breaths before each word to settle his nerves. “I tried to stay calm, and I guess it worked out.”
Kevin was one of 39 students from Central Elementary School, Elizabeth Haddon Elementary School, J. Fithian Tatem Elementary School, Haddonfield Friends School and Christ the King Regional School to take part in the spelling bee. Inkwood Books sponsored the bee, and the top three winners took home gift certificates. Second place went to Alex Nuckols, and Mia Soper finished in third.
“I studied a lot,” Mia said. The Christ the King student was excited with her third-place win and deemed “glacier” to be the most difficult word she spelled.
Giulia Leonetti, a student at Elizabeth Haddon Elementary, was the fourth-place finalist and the alternate for the three winners in the upcoming Garden District Spelling Bee. Like the other top finishers, she was surprised with her finish.
“I really didn’t expect it. I’ve never been in any kind of spelling competition before,” Giulia said. “I practiced some really hard words.”
One of those words may have been “arithmetic,” which Giulia thought was her hardest word of the night, although she appeared to spell it with ease during her turn.
Marie DiMatties and Susan F. Schmidt of The Haddon Fortnightly Women’s Club co-chaired the event, which is part of the New Jersey State Federation of Women’s Clubs competition. Kevin, Alex and Mia will compete in the Garden District Spelling Bee on Feb. 12. Winners at the district level will then go on to the NJSFWC State Spelling Bee on March 4.
The co-chairs agreed the bee was a success.
“We were honored to put it on,” Schmidt said. “All the students came. They were prepared and eager, and they were brave.”
“I think it went beautifully,” DiMatties added. “It’s a wonderful event for the children.”
There was no doubting the nerves on stage, and with a packed auditorium, it was easy to see why the kids were anxious. Regardless, Schmidt was proud of everyone’s performance.
“The fact that they got up there and did it anyway,” she said, “that shows you the tenacity of the students.”
John Giannotti returned as the evening’s pronouncer, and judges were Mayor Jeff Kasko, Commissioner Neal Rochford and The Haddon Fortnightly member Janet Hutchinson, who took the place of former mayor Tish Colombi when she was unable to attend.
Giannotti has pronounced for The Haddon Fortnightly spelling bee five times over the years. He kicked off the bee by asking each student to stand, recite and spell his or her first name. He also reminded the students they were successful and should be proud to be on stage, sharing an anecdote that appeared to calm some nerves: some of the students who spelled a word wrong during the first round of the first spelling bee he pronounced, Giannotti explained, are now studying at Ivy League institutions.
“It’s one of those things where it gives me a lot of pleasure, but it also gives me a whole lot of angst,” Giannotti said of the experience, adding he feels for the students when they spell a word incorrectly. “They try their best, and it went really well.”
The Haddon Fortnightly congratulates all participants: Dane Anderson, George Bisirri, Teagan Braman, Tessa Cahill, Mitchell Dingwall, Violet Dorsey, Charlotte Dowd, Will Duncan, Emily Evearts, Isabella Farnoly, Sarah Fetter, Henry Gartland, Gavin Gibson, Will Henderson, Kieran Heslin, Kevin Hoff, Elly Incollingo, Will Johnson, Henry Kastenberg, Peter Landis, Giulia Leonetti, Dylan Lepore-Scheuren, Victoria Lupan, Jake Mc Conaghy, Robert “RJ” McFadden, Patrick McInerney, Caisey Neil-Martino, Alex Nuckols, Andrew O’Donnell, Jake Portella, Alexandria Ralic, Eleanor “Nell” Slade, Mia Soper, Matthew Sullivan, Ava Thomas, Hannah Thompson, Carly Troy, Sydney Urbach and Connor Whalen.
