On Tuesday, I had the honor of being one of the judges at the annual Wallingford Townwide Spelling Bee. The group of twenty two fifth and sixth graders were wonderful. Each and every one of them showed poise under stress, and the finalists ping ponged back and forth, spelling plateau, machete, choreograph, vertebrae and many more with ease. They kept the audience (and the judges) wondering who would end up being this year’s champion. The final word? Pneumonia.

Congratulations to all the participants. And thank you to the Wallingford Junior Woman’s Club and The Record-Journal Publishing Corp. for sponsoring this well organized event.