Students spellbound for City Hall

LYNN – The 30th Daily Item Regional Spelling Bee, part of the annual Scripps National Spelling Bee, will be held at Lynn Auditorium on April 2. The event is sponsored by Joel and Mary Abramson, owners of Flagship Travel of Marblehead.Spellers are urged to arrive at 5:30 p.m. for registration, and the spelling bee will begin promptly at 6:30 p.m.The Daily Item is the last North Shore regional daily newspaper still coordinating a regional Scripps spelling bee for students up to and including eighth grade. The winner advances to the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington D.C. in late May.More than 45 students from schools across eastern Massachusetts will compete in The Item Spelling Bee, including 16 from Lynn public and private schools. Prizes will be awarded for first, second and third place. The winner of the regional bee will receive hotel and travel expenses to participate in the Scripps National Spelling Bee. All spellers in the regional bee will receive a certificate of recognition along with a $10 Barnes and Noble gift card.Prizes for the regional spelling bee are provided by Flagship Travel and the Abramsons, who support a number of local public and private education programs. Joel Abramson, a Lynn native and product of Lynn schools, said he and his wife consider the annual spelling bee an important competition and something they want to continue.”Unfortunately, kids today are so heavily dependent on mobile devices to check for spelling and grammar and mathematics,” Abramson said. “That’s part of why the Item Spelling Bee is so important. Learning how to spell and to write cursive are the very basic first steps of learning how to communicate.”Mitchell Robson, son of Lena and Dwight Robson of Marblehead, was the 2014 winner of The Daily Item Regional Spelling Bee as a sixth-grader at the Marblehead Community Charter School. He will be back to defend his title this year as a seventh-grader.Lynn Mayor Judith Flanagan Kennedy will welcome the students to this year’s competition along with Lynn Superintendent of Schools Dr. Catherine C. Latham. Peter Mikedis, owner of Sidekim Foods in Lynn, will provide a light dinner for the students.Phil Ouellette, Daily Item vice president, sales, worked with Lynn Community Development Director James Marsh to secure Lynn Auditorium as the site for the second consecutive year.”We’re so fortunate to have such a great venue for this event,” Ouellette said. “As the students demonstrate their spellaing prowess, the spelling bee is another showcase event for downtown Lynn and Lynn Auditorium.”For more information, contact Ouellette at [email protected] or 781-593-7700 x1257.