WESTFIELD – Some may say spelling is a lost art, one of which American children have shown great difficulty mastering of late.
However, at Westfield State University last night, middle school students from across the city met in the Savignano Auditorium to face off in the second annual Circle K Words With Friends Spelling Bee for the Whip City’s spelling bragging rights.
The event was supported by MoFroYo frozen yogurt, VIPS and the Kiwanis Club.
Fourteen competitors met a packed Wilson Hall, seeking to outspell one another for one of three prizes: a Word’s With Friends game, a Barns & Noble gift certificate or a Kindle Fire for the first-place winner. And for prizes such as these, competition was fierce.
According to Sarah Fregeau, a senior member of Westfield State’s Circle K club who introduced the event, the spelling bee is a great community activity that embodies everything that convinced her to join Circle K as a student at Westfield State.
“I joined Circle K to make friends and get involved on campus and within the community,” Fregeau said. “We do a lot of fundraising and community service projects around Westfield. Events like these really develop these attitudes at a young age.”
The Circle K Club is a community service group, which is overseen by the Kiwanis Organization of Westfield. A distinguished adult organization dedicated to community service, the Kiwanians of Westfield have been aiming to improve the city and the lives of its youth for years which, according to Kiwanis of Westfield member Barbara Trant, is exactly the aim of this spelling bee.
“The (Spelling Bee) was the idea of Circle K,” Trant said. “They wanted to get more involved in the school system.”
An organization of around 70 members in greater Westfield, the Kiwanis are interested in boosting the morale of the city’s youth, a feat which Trant believes is well within the realm of possibility with events like this being held annually.
“I think (events) like this are great practice for the rest of a student’s life,” said Trant, also a veteran of the Westfield Public School system for more than 20 years, “Public speaking is such a valued skill today. It’s imperative we equip our kids with these skills to be successful in life.”
At the conclusion of the event, the standings were as follows: In third place, Averli Flaherty of Munger Hill Elementary, in second place, Jeffrey Knowlton of Highland Elementary, and in first place, Sophia Taglieri of Southampton Road Elementary.
