Adults on spot in spelling bee; Schools fundraiser set in Shrewsbury.Byline: Sandy Quadros Bowles SHREWSBURY - With education funding in a bad spell, the Shrewsbury Education Foundation is seeking some good spellers Noun 1. good speller - someone who spells words poor speller, speller writer - a person who is able to write and has written something . They won't win money, but the town's top word wizards will take home a trophy declaring them "Shrewsbury's Splendiferous splen·dif·er·ous adj. Splendid: "The working genius of American design has been . . . a refining of utilitarian purity into a kind of splendiferous native simplicity" Jay Cocks. Spellers.'' The foundation's first adult spelling bee spelling bee n. A contest in which competitors are eliminated as they fail to spell a given word correctly. Also called spelldown. Noun 1. will be at 7 p.m. Nov. 14 in Shrewsbury High School There are several schools named Shrewsbury High School
The teams will spell words on a whiteboard The electronic equivalent of chalk and blackboard, but between remote users. Whiteboard systems allow network participants to simultaneously view one or more users drawing on an on-screen blackboard or running an application. , which Shrewsbury Education Foundation president Melisa Hollenback said can seem "not quite as intimidating'' as having to spell the words aloud. That fits with the theme of the evening. Ms. Hollenback hopes the bee will be a community event that will be fun for both participants and audience members. Spelling bees are not new to Shrewsbury. About 13 years ago, the foundation had a spelling bee, but the event did not become a tradition. With funding for the education foundation dropping, she hopes this will change. Spelling bees appeal to a wide range of people, she said. The competition will involve elimination rounds. Shrewsbury resident and radio personality Peter Blute will host. Judges include Art Dobson, who is involved in a range of town activities, and Daniel Gutekanst, former Shrewsbury High School principal who is now superintendent of schools in Needham. The judges will primarily serve as time-keepers and will decipher Same as decrypt. any handwriting questions, Ms. Hollenback said. "It's not serious, but we will follow some procedures to make it fair,'' she said. Registration fee is $250 per team. Businesses can be solicited to sponsor a team, or a word in the competition which can relate to their industry. A coffee shop, for example, could sponsor the word "caffeine caffeine (kăfēn`), odorless, slightly bitter alkaloid found in coffee, tea, kola nuts (see cola), ilex plants (the source of the Latin American drink maté), and, in small amounts, in cocoa (see cacao). .'' Spelling words will be taken from the 2009 Scripps National Spelling Bee. The official study guide will be available on the foundation Web site and can be downloaded to use as a study aid. Admission is free. Children's games and activities will be available, and refreshments will be served. All proceeds benefit the Shrewsbury Education Foundation, which funds a variety of educational enrichment programs at the public schools. The foundation has awarded more than $250,000 in grants since its inception in 1992. These programs have included Language Through Lyrics for preschoolers, Magical Magnification Magnification A measure of the effectiveness of an optical system in enlarging or reducing an image. For an optical system that forms a real image, such a measure is the lateral magnification m at Coolidge Elementary School elementary school: see school. , Interest-Based Workshops at Oak Middle School and Making a Critical Difference at Shrewsbury High School. Programs funded by the foundation span all grades and involve students of all academic achievement levels. Ms. Hollenback hopes to raise $10,000 through this event, but acknowledges the actual tally may be lower. She admits that this is "not the best year to be starting a fundraiser.'' But she hopes the bee will become an annual event and a more successful one when the economy improves. "And if all else fails,'' she said with a smile, "at least people will learn to spell better.'' For more information on how to participate or to download the spelling guide, visit http://www.shrewsbury-edfoundation.org. ART: PHOTO PHOTOG pho·tog n. Informal A person who takes photographs, especially as a profession; a photographer. : T&G Staff/JIM COLLINS CUTLINE: (1) Melissa Hollenback of the Shrewsbury Education Foundation is queen of the bee to raise funds for the public schools. |
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