Out of 17 participants, Kylie Sullivan was the overall winner
Published in the February 4-17, 2015 issue of Morgan Hill Life
By Staff Report
Samantha Frazer competes in the spelling bee at Nordstrom Elementary School. Photo by Marty Cheek
One by one, 17 students at Nordstrom Elementary School stood at a microphone in front of a table of three judges and were given a word to spell. One by one, the contestants were eliminated at the Jan. 23 spelling bee.
The overall winner of the contest was sixth-grader Kylie Sullivan. She will head to the regional CBS Bay Area Written Spelling Bee at the Lawrence Hall of Science at U.C. Berkeley Feb. 21.
The Nordstrom contestants were 3rd graders Ryan Bays, Austin Jennings, Andrew Nguyen and winner Charlotte Vandenbroeck; 4th graders Christopher Becerra, Bailey Empleo, Alexander Nguyen, Penelope Pagaduan and winner Tegan Leong; 5th graders Samantha Aramaki, Marc DiFrancesco, Neil Shah and winner Minh Thy Hoang; 6th graders Nikita Balakumar, Samantha Frazer, Tyler Muhleman and winner Kylie Sullivan. The Nordstrom Spell-A-Thon/Spelling Bee co-chairs were Aryn Harris and Karyn Gallipeo.
Rotary Club member Sherry Hemingway said the club got involved because it believes it’s important to participate in education activities.
Bailey Empleo spells a word for the judges. Photo by Marty Cheek
“For me, the experience of judging the spelling bee was warming and exciting,” Hemingway said. “As judges, we had been coached to show no facial expressions, but at times, I know I was holding my breath. We were stone-faced on the outside and cheering on the inside.
“The Nordstrom students were very smart, and it was fun to see the petite fourth grader take the prize from all the grades above her,” she said.
The other judges were David Lister and Kim Kacir. Rotarian Pete Kutras read the words. The Rotary encourages civic participation among its members to benefit the community, Hemingway said.
“It is part of the natural fiber of Rotarians to give to the community, and sometimes their greatest challenge is how to choose where to best serve with the resources we have,” she said. “If you look around any community meeting or event, there are bound to be Rotarians in the room. They care so much that the benefits are inevitable.”
