Shaver wins spelling bee

Wednesday, February 10, 2010 12:00 AM | Printer friendly version | E-mail to a friend |
By Kathy Chaffin

kchaffin@salisburypost.com

The third time was a charm for Augusta Shaver of Corriher-Lipe Middle School, the winner of Tuesday night's 2010 Rowan-Salisbury School System District Spelling Bee.

Augusta, a seventh-grader at Corriher-Lipe, placed third in the 2009 spelling bee and fifth in the 2008 competition.

After 23 competitors were eliminated in the first eight rounds with misspellings, she and the reigning champion, Southeast Middle sixth- grader Rosalyn D'Mello, battled through another almost 100 rounds. When it seemed as if the spelling bee would go on all night, D'Mello misspelled the word, "asthmogenic."

Augusta went on to spell two consecutive words — masala and alchemy — correctly to win.

"We have a champion," said Dr. Karl Hales. The retired Catawba College professor served as master of ceremonies for the spelling bee, held in the Teaching Auditorium at Rowan-Cabarrus Community College.

"It took us 235 words before we got through this one," he said.

Hales said earlier in the competition that some previous spelling bees have ended after 80-some words.

"I was really tired," Augusta said when it was over. "I was scared they were going to run out of words."

Augusta said Rosalyn was a very tough competitor. "We were in it together last year," she said.

When asked to spell certain words, Augusta would close her eyes and make the motion of writing the words with her hand. "I would just visualize the paper and how I would write on it," she said. "When I would close my eyes, I would just try to see the word."

Though it didn't show, Augusta said she was very nervous.

Augusta has studied the list of 1,500 words given to school spelling bee winners daily since October, sometimes up to six hours a day.

"My mom, she spent a lot of time with me on the words," she said. "She would look them up and quiz me."

Sheila Parrish, Augusta's teacher at Corriher-Lipe, also helped her. "She's a very good teacher," Augusta said.

She fully expects to be competing against Rosalyn again next year in the 2011 District Spelling Bee. "I'm just going to study as I hard as I did this year," Augusta said.

If she wins at her school, Rosalyn will be able to compete in the spelling bee for two more years.

Augusta's parents, Stephanie and Jim Shaver, were at the competition to cheer her on along with her grandparents, Jo and Jerry Miles, her aunt, Theresa Price, and Price's mother-in-law, Margie Kemp.

As this year's spelling bee champion, Augusta will go on to compete in the regional spelling bee scheduled for March 14 at the Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Winston-Salem. "I think I'll do pretty good," she said.

She received a trophy from Salisbury Post Editor Elizabeth Cook along with an iPod, digital camera and $75 Walmart gift card.

As second-place winner, Rosalyn also received a trophy along with a flip video camera, digital camera and $50 Walmart gift card. Third-place winner Jessica Sullivan of Hurley Elementary received a trophy, a digital camera and $25 Walmart gift card.

Twenty-two other school spelling bee winners, all of them in the fifth-through- eighth grades, participated in the spelling bee.

Before the competition started, Hales said 24 of the students would misspell a word. "That's the only way we can have a winner ..." he said. "There will be mistakes made. There will be misspellings. Occasionally, that even happens on the first round. Don't worry about that ...

"They have already proven themselves as winners. If you don't take pride in them, I don't know who will. I don't even know these children, and I'm proud of them."

Other school spelling bee winners were as follows: Sydney Smith of Bostian; Maison Ervin of Erwin; Brandon Kimberlin of China Grove Elementary; Kaleb King of China Grove Middle; Steven DiVanna of Cleveland; Marcus Corry of Overton; Keirston Morgan of Enochville;

Austin Kirkman of Shive; Harrison Kratzer of Faith; Korizma Alston of Granite Quarry; Marianne Abdalah of Isenberg; Terence Clyne of Hanford Dole; Brianna Reeder of Knollwood; Elbert Moulton of Knox; Wesley Holloway of Landis;

Cierra Hunter of Millbridge; Annah Seaford of Morgan; Lauren Sherrill of Mount Ulla; Margie Villalobos of North Elementary; Phillip Martin of North Middle; Sabrina Harkey of Rockwell; Blake Shoaf of West Middle; and Megan Smith of Woodleaf.

Zack Scrip, the winner at Elizabeth Koontz, did not compete in the district spelling bee.

Tina Mashburn, director of middle grades education for the school system, welcomed the large gathering which turned out for the competition — including Superintendent Dr. Judy Grissom and numerous principals, assistant principals and teachers — and recognized sponsors along with Dr. Sarah Hensley, director of elementary education.

Judges were Dr. Rebecca Smith, assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction for the school system; Jane Creech, elementary school lead curriculum coach; and Shirley Disseler, middle school curriculum specialist.

Contact Kathy Chaffin at 704-797-4249.