October

Students Compete for Chance at Spelling Bee

staff rePort

Students in grades 4-8 at Kirtland Schools recently competed in their annual spelling bees for a chance to advance to the Lake County Spelling Bee.

Grades 1-3 are not eligible for the county spelling bees, so their spelling bees will happen later this spring.

These spelling bees are in conjunction with the Scripps National Spelling Bee, which was established in 1925 and administered by the E.W. Scripps Company in Cincinnati.

“At Kirtland, teachers value the spelling bee for more than the obvious reason of compelling students to be better spellers,” Spelling Bee Coordinator Linn Bowen said. “It also develops vocabulary, provides opportunities for public speaking experiences, and helps the participants build confidence and poise.”

She added, “We are lucky to have the support of so many teachers in the district who assist with keeping the spelling bee alive.”

The students first completed spelling tests in their classrooms to determine participation in the grade-level spelling bee. Typically, Kirtland has 12-24 students competing at each grade level.

Grade level winners were: Liliana Giavara, grade 4; Grace Kostelnik, grade 5; Tommy Loncar, grade 6; Karen Hill, grade 7; and Charlie Whittaker, grade 8.

Charlie was the overall Kirtland winner and went on to compete against other district winners in the Lake County Spelling Bee on Feb. 1. He won that competition and advanced to the Tri-County Bee held March 1 at the Educational Service Center of the Western Reserve in Concord Township.

At the Tri-County Spelling Bee, Charlie competed against Parker Pacifico, from West Geauga Middle School in Geauga County, and Lorelei Glink, from Jefferson Junior High School in Ashtabula County.

The competition went 20 rounds ending with a victory for Parker, an eighth-grader, earning him a trip to the Scripps National Spelling Bee at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor in Maryland in May.

Charlie Whittaker

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suBmitted By Jim Porter

Good News! The Kirtland Kiwanis Strawberry Festival will be held June 16, 17 and 18 complete with rides, games, parade, and great festival food.

The festival will follow a major Kiwanis Rummage sale June 2, 3 and 4 at the Big Red Barn in Pumpkinville. Please save your treasures for the sale. All proceeds from these events will fund Scholarships and Service Projects in the community.

The Kiwanis Club celebrated its 63rd anniversary in January and welcomed new members Nick Angle, Gary Walton, Sue Grazia, Tom Booth and Greg Kessler. The club also welcomed back Stan Krulc, John Grazia, Jim Emch, Bernie Thorne and Dave Torok, former members who re-joined the ranks, now including 66 members.

What is Kiwanis and why do people want to join a Kiwanis Club? Kiwanis clubs are service organizations, not affiliated with any religious group. Membership is open to everyone who wants to contribute to building a better community.

For example, when you see the community garden, a gazebo in front of city hall, a sign saying Kirtland Public Library, restored bleachers at the football field, freshly painted fences at both cemeteries, dugouts, a beautiful new shelter and a playground in the recreation park, signs at the city entrances telling of state championships in football and girl’s soccer, beautifully restored bocce courts at the senior center and hear of many Kirtland young people enjoying scholarship funds, you are seeing why folks feel joining Kirtland Kiwanis is a great idea.

The club sponsors a Key Club at KHS, a Builders Club at KMS and is in the process of developing a Kiwanis Kids Club at KES, so our young people learn the value of being of service to their community. The club also sponsors an Aktion Club at Deepwood.

This spring, you can choose to garden at the community garden and reserve a plot by going to the web site www.gardenclubofkirtland.org after April 1. For information, call Pat at 440-256-1341.

This spring, the club will be awarding over $18,000 in scholarships. Application forms for these scholarships are now available online at KirtlandKiwanis.org.

Building a playground at the senior center this summer will be one of the major new projects this year. The soccer fields and baseball fields there are used all summer by families and a playground for younger children will be a real help to them. Also, when grandma and grandpa bring along the grandchildren, there will be a place for them to enjoy having fun together. Kiwanis is planning to do the work of installing the equipment and is being joined by the Soccer Moms, the Kiwanis Club, Kirtland Kiwanis Foundation, the Builders Club and the City of Kirtland in funding the project estimated to cost over $30,000. Funds are still needed to meet that goal and you can help by going to KirtlandKiwanis.org and choosing the DONATE button. Golfers can help by joining the Kiwanis Foundation Annual Golf Outing in August.