The first annual Putnam Valley Middle School spelling Bee was held on May 30. A continuing project of the Putnam Valley PTA’s Education Excellence Committee (EEC), the evening event was the culmination of a series of class-level qualifying bees held throughout the Middle School earlier in the spring.

Words were group by categories, including Body Parts, Food, Sports, and Music, to name just a few. Some difficult words were: disarmament, fibrillation, corpuscle, chromosomal, and tricuspid. Some fun words were: trampolining, chimichanga,and succotash. Words that presented particular challenges for the finalists were militarism, larynx, deuce, marmalade, hula, arugula, aggressor, and deterrence.

The evening’s moderator and word announcer was Middle School Principal, Ed Hallisey. Judging the event was Middle School Assistant Principal, Dr. David Fine. Organizing the event were PVMS Building Steering Committee parent liaisons Jane Brazeau and Jeanne Scolaro.

Initially word lists were distributed to interested students, followed by grade level competitions. On May 21 there were spelling bees in community meetings to determine the semi-finalists. There was a packed house in the PVMS cafeteria for the final competition on May 30. The winning word, spelled correctly by Sixth Grader Keith Knoeppel, was auricle. Keith’s name will appear on a perpetual plaque in the lobby of the Middle School. He also received a $25 Barnes & Noble gift card and a trophy.