The Woman’s Club of Merchantville sponsored the 26th annual spelling bee for fourth and fifth graders from the Merchantville, Maple Shade, and Pennsauken school systems. Forty contestants, selected by their schools, competed for a spot in the regional bee. The three winners from this regional bee went on to participate in the state-wide bee, which was held at the New Jersey State Federation of Women’s Club’s headquarters in New Brunswick.
After 20 rounds and spelling words like usual and abhor, Michael Ricci from St. Peter School in Merchantville took first place; Brianna Nguyen from Carson School in Pennsauken took second place; and Alexis Leana from Merchantville Elementary School took third place. Other top spellers participating included Brennen King and Ciera Yackel from Ralph J. Steinhauer Elementary School in Maple Shade; Dalia Abu Harb, Mackenzie Gallo, Nilsaeli Morales, Layla Serrano, Ayen Aldana, and Shanara Rhondes from Benjamin Franklin School in Pennsauken; Nicholas Bonilla, Jenny Kim, Kevin Pham, Remy Trinh, Brandon Hoang, and Diego Vega from Carson School in Pennsauken; Ebony Arvelo, Gavin Ruby, Elias Mateo, Emma Ramirez from Longfellow School in Pennsauken; Mauricio Carteno, Eddie Grullon, Jayden Laporte, Haleigh D’Amelio, Brendon Park, and Jayden Sosa from George B. Fine School in Pennsauken; Cassidy Clark from Roosevelt School in Pennsauken; Gabrielle Callaway, Lucy Kerr, Jiya Mehta, Kennedy Roberts, and Danielle Ragan from Merchantville Elementary School; Ziani Williams, Tiffany Liu, and Vicki Wang from St. Cecilia School in Pennsauken; Brian Dungee, Nicholas Pezzella, and Thomas Mikhael from St. Stephen’s School in Pennsauken; and Michele Ciarrocca.
These students should be congratulated for their hard work in preparing for the bee and the courage to participate. They are the top spellers in their class. The Merchantville Woman’s Club would also like to thank the parents, teachers, family members and friends who came out to cheer their students on. The spelling bee was held at the Howard M. Phifer Middle School; we would also like to thank the Pennsauken School Board and the school staff members who helped that day.
Woman’s Club Meetings
The Woman’s Club of Merchantville’s next meeting is Wednesday, Mar. 18 at 12 p.m. at the Merchantville Community Center. There will be a tea luncheon followed by the monthly meeting. For women who are not available for day time members, there is a night time department that will meet on Tuesday, Mar. 10. Members volunteer at the Food Bank of South Jersey and Cathedral Kitchen once a month. They raise funds through a basket auction, card/game parties and bus trips. For more information, contact Jan at (609) 410-4650 or janwh@aol.com.
