MADISON TOWNSHIP — Students from Stingel Elementary dominated the podium at this year’s Mansfield-Richland County Third Grade Spelling Bee.
Evelyn Lee won the competition. Kai Grassick was the runner up. Margot Biddle came in third. All three are students at Stingel Elementary in Ontario.
Thirty-five students competed at the bee. Each student qualified through smaller competitions at their home schools.
Participants hailed from Madison’s Eastview Elementary, Madison South, Saint Mary of the Snows Catholic School, St. Peter’s Elementary, Richland School of Academic Arts and Stingel. Madison Middle School hosted the bee on Feb. 12.
Ginny Corso, Beth Owens and Marilyn Wheaton all served as judges. Winston Greene, district test coordinator for Mansfield City Schools, served as the pronouncer.
The third grade bee is independently organized by Linda Burrage and is open to all Richland County third graders. Burrage founded the bee in 2017 while working as a substitute teacher.
“I was teaching third grade and I thought, ‘we needed to give them something to do,’” she said.
“The spelling bee isn’t about winning or losing. It’s about literacy, community building and fostering the successful futures of these students.”
Every year, Burrage pulls the bee together with the help of volunteers and donations from the community.
“This is a community spelling bee because that’s how it’s funded,” she said. “Everybody volunteered their time. Nobody gets paid for this.”
Participants and their families get dinner and every child leaves with a gift bag, a couple of books and a dictionary.
“I don’t care if you’re the first one out or the last one standing,” Burrage said. “This is not your grandma’s spelling bee.”
This year’s supporters included McDonald’s, Golden Corral, Sol Froyo, Penn Station, Five Below, Kohl’s, School Specialty, Meijer, Altrusa International of Mansfield and various churches, banks and credit unions. The committee included Doris Cline, Pamela Chadwick, Ginny Corso, Winston Greene and Merlin Wheaton.
