Menno Haak’s childhood bedtime routine consisted of him donning a headlamp and catching up on his favorite nonfiction.
If those pages could talk, they just might congratulate the 10-year-old Lindsey Elementary School student for fostering his love of reading all those years, for skipping fourth grade and for knowing how to spell A-P-P-E-N-D-E-C-T-O-M-Y.
“I feel happy,” Menno said, moments after being named champion of the Geauga County Spelling Bee Feb. 15, which was held inside Building B of the Geauga County Educational Service Center in Chardon.
It is spelling bee time throughout the nation as young achievers advance from classrooms to larger venues, bringing an iconic tradition alive that eventually leads to the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington D.C.
The county spelling bee is open to students through the eighth grade. Each district in Geauga County had one student who placed first from their school.
In addition to Menno, this year’s winners included: Gavin Foye, a fifth-grader at Burton Elementary School; Emily Pleva, a third-grader at Jordak Elementary School; Karl Dietz, a sixth-grader at Chardon Middle School; Elliott Bargiel, a seventh-grader at Kenston Middle School; Brooke Ruchalski, a seventh-grader at Newbury Schools; Mary Lucy Currier, a sixth-grader at Notre Dame Elementary School; and Mario Romagni, a fifth-grader at St. Helen School.
Stephen Miller, Geauga County Spelling Bee coordinator, said he hoped there is an appreciation of the hard work young spellers commit to in learning the words, their ability to stand in front of an audience and microphone, and their composure to spell words.
Each speller was given a word in every round. If they spelled their word correctly, they proceeded to the next round.
Words were taken from Merriam Webster’s unabridged dictionary, which added more than 1,000 words back in February 2017, and added 250 more words, including “Froyo,” back in September.
Rules state when there is only one speller who has correctly spelled their word in a round, one more round — the championship round — must be completed. If that word is not spelled correctly, the spellers eliminated in the previous round are entered back in the competition.
The rounds continue until there is one champion.
However, there was no need for that in this year’s competition as Haak nailed each word correctly.
Parents, administrators and teachers chatted before the contest, including those representing Pleva, the first ever third-grade competitor from Cardinal Schools.
“We are very proud,” said Principal Kelly Bearer, of Jordak Elementary School, alongside Superintendent Scott Hunt.
The county contest is one of the precursors to the Scripps National Spelling Bee, founded in 1925, which has been held continuously, with the exception of World War II years 1943 through 1945.
Miller welcomed everyone and gave each participant a quick rehearsal at the microphone before the competition began.
Audience members smiled as the youngest contestant, Pleva, took the stage and lowered the microphone to her speaking level.
Kicking off in round one, three contestants misspelled their words and joined the Cleveland Browns mascot Chomps on the sidelines. Another contestant joined them after round two.
Suspense grew as the field of good spellers narrowed down to Mary Lucy and Menno through 13 rounds.
The room fell silent as Menno, a science lover and avid video game player, correctly spelled the clinching word, “appendectomy,” which is the surgical removal of the appendix.
Soon after receiving his trophy, Menno made his way back to his parents and into the welcoming arms of his mother, Inna.
All eight contestants received certificates in acknowledgment of their participatory achievements.
“He is such a sweet boy and we are proud of him,” Inna said of her son. Her husband, Bill, added Inna began reading to Menno when he was a very young age every night.
Menno’s teacher, Sandy Kulp, joined the family in congratulations.
“He has a super memory and excellent ability to understand how words are put together,” Kulp said.
The humble spelling bee champion smiled and sunk into his chair as Kulp bent down and shook his hand.
“It feels really nice to have my teacher here,” he said.
Menno will compete March 8 in the Tri-County Spelling Bee composed of Ashtabula, Geauga and Lake counties, at the Kirtland Public Library. The winner of that contest will advance to compete in the 2018 Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington D.C., May 27 through June 1.
