First place in the Spelling Bee went to Ashley Royer, a member of the Grade 7 Bears cluster. She received a $2,000 scholarship to Sylvan Learning Center, a watch from Precision Time and a $50 Simon gift card.

The second and third place finishers went one-on-one for four rounds before Grade 8 Aquarian Claudia Lanes, placed second and Spencer May, a member of the Broncos cluster, took third. Each contestant received a $50 Simon gift card and a watch from Precision Time.

After more than two hours of competition there were eight contestants remaining. "Tie Breaker" words, such as: epistrophe, opsimath, autochthonous and linguipotence, were used to narrow the field.

All 30 contestants received a goody bag of gifts provided by mall merchants, including Old Time Sports.

Thirty pieces of student art were auctioned off to benefit the Peabody Education Foundation. The frames for the artwork were provided by GraVoc Associates. The three artists whose work brought in the highest bids were also recognized with a $50 Simon gift card from Mark Whiting. The artists are: Camryn Caruso, Bernard Perisie and Nicole Malvarose.

Excited spellers started with a pizza and cupcake practice session and then navigated the back halls of the mall to take the stage at Macy’s court.

Attendees took part in the silent auction and raffle to benefit the Peabody Education Foundation’s Partners in Education program.

Many thanks to all who came to the bee and especially to all the contributors and volunteers who made the event possible.