Do you like spelling? If you do, come to the Watertown Spelling Bee on March 31, 2019, at Watertown Middle School. The event starts at 9 a.m.

The Spelling Bee raises money for the Watertown Community Foundation. The WCF uses the money to give grants to teachers and school groups.

Amy Donohue is a member of the Watertown School Committee. She worked for 12 years as an occupational therapist at Cunniff Elementary. Mrs. Donohue said she brought the Spelling Bee to Watertown nine years ago.

“I love to see kids excited, happy, and enjoying spelling,” she said in an interview with Cunniff Kids News reporters on Wednesday, March 13. “Not every kid is an athlete or an artist. … I love seeing [Watertown students] there that day.”

The Spelling Bee is open to any Watertown child in grades 1-5. The child does not have to go to a Watertown school to participate. It costs $20 for each child to participate.

This year, signups are only being done online through Watertown Community Foundation. Student signups will taken until March 22.

According to Mrs. Donohue, last year there were about 350 students who participated. The most she remembers was about 400 students.

At the Spelling Bee, students compete in teams of three from the same grade. Many of the students dress up in white, black and yellow. Some teams pick fun names and dress up to fit their names.

“The kids get to work together as a team,” said Mrs. Donohue.

When it is time for their grade to compete, the students go on stage in the Watertown Middle School auditorium and sit at long tables. They are asked by the callers to spell words. The students write the words on a whiteboard. Any time a team spells a words incorrectly, they tip over a “stinger”. When a team misses three words, it is out. The last team remaining wins a trophy and a bag of gummi letters. (There is no elimination for the first-graders.)

At the event, there will also be a raffle and 2019 Spelling Bee T-shirts on sale. Any student can submit a design for the T-shirt in one of the Bee Boxes in the schools. Deadline for submitting designs is Friday, March 15. One student design will be chosen for this year’s shirt.

(For more information or questions about the 2019 Spelling Bee, contact [email protected]. To sign up, go to https://watertowncommunityfoundation.ticketleap.com/2019-spelling-bee/.)

–March 14, 2019–