CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WEEK 2010

J.D. Long-Garía/CATHOLIC SUN

Skylar Seminara and Cooper Munhall are recognized by Sr. Melita Penchalk at the Feb. 2 diocesan spelling bee.

St. Francis Xavier student wins spelling bee by a ‘millimeter’

This year’s diocesan spelling bee took so long to finish, they had to break into the “hard-word” list.

It was the first time in eight years these tougher words were used, according to Sr. Melita Penchalk, OSBM, assistant superintendent for the diocese’s Catholic schools.

By the time Notre Dame principal David Gonsalves got around to the tough words Feb. 2, only two students remained: eighth-grader Cooper Munhall from St. Francis Xavier, the host school, and seventh-grader Skylar Seminara from St. Theresa.

To get to that point, Munhall and Seminara had to best 24 other spellers. All 26 participants had won competitions at their local schools, so when Sr. Melita said, “They’re all winners,” she wasn’t kidding.

“With the advent of Twitter, we have to learn two ways to spell words,” Sr. Melita quipped before the spelling bee began.

More photos from this event

At one point, onlookers chuckled when a student was asked to spell a particular word. They then grumbled when Gonsalves provided the definition of “knotty.”

Words that might trip up public school kids — like tabernacle — were easy for these Catholic students.

But in the end, Seminara and Munhall duked it out in rapid succession, spelling out words like they were knocking down pins. When Seminara misspelled a word, Munhall did too — and vice versa. Both students missed “centrifuge,” “camouflage” and, ironically, “solidarity.” Then the students spelled a string of words correctly.

The dilemma continued when they both misspelled “dilemma.”

Then Seminara misspelled “millimeter,” and this time Munhall didn’t miss the chance to edge him out.

As you might expect, both students are good readers — though Seminara doesn’t enjoy it much.

“He’s always been a good speller,” Sue Seminara said of her son, noting that he spells better than his three siblings.

Munhall, on the other hand, loves to read. He said his favorite book is “Great Expectations,” but added that he also likes the Harry Potter series.

His proud parents — Bob and Kate — noted that it was the second time Munhall made it to the diocesan spelling bee. His brother, Matt, also made it twice, but never won.

Since he’s in the eighth grade, Munhall won’t get a chance to defend his title next year. But great expectations await his two younger brothers, Jack and Bobby.