 |
|
|
|
Photograph by Skye Dunlap
Hard Spell:
Teddy Herrera, Tom Duong, Teresa Berry, teacher Jason Morrella, Christy Mendez, and Sarah Thornhill (clockwise from left)--continue their reign as Bay Area spelling champions.
|
Broadway High School once again proves that 'Bee' stands for 'Best'
Bay Area spelling champions reign for another year
By Mary Spicuzza
Teddy Herrera sits dangling his legs from the classroom desk without saying a word. As the other champions from the Broadway High team recap their recent victory at the California Continuation Education spelling bee, he seems perfectly happy just hearing their stories. But as his teammates each name folks who contributed to their success, Herrera realizes he can't get out of talking.
"I'd like to thank my family, and the team," Herrera says quietly. "I wasn't going to do the spelling bee. But they started noticing my scores, and encouraged me to keep going."
As the room erupts in sighs and gentle teasing, it becomes clear that although the team's two-year winning streak is about hard work, it's also about these teenagers being there for each other.
That combination led the Broadway team to victory last Wednesday, March 31, when they once again took home the gold in the Bay Area-wide spelling competition. The contest included schools from San Andreas, Campbell, Palo Alto and the East Bay.
One might think the winning team and their coach, English and robotics teacher Jason Morrello, had effortlessly coasted through the victory--calm, cool, and poised for success after last year's victory.
"I was so scared," Christy Mendez admits.
Despite her place on the winning team last year, Mendez says she was just as nervous this year. Her returning teammates, Sarah Thornhill and Teresa Berry, nod their heads in agreement.
Who could blame them? The competition put the five-member team through five rounds of high-pressure spelling. Students from each of the four schools had no idea how they'd done until the end of each round, when the scores were tallied and the leading teams advanced to the next level.
Broadway not only won first place, but the dream team of Herrera, Mendez, Thornhill, Berry and Tom Duong emerged with near-perfect scores. "In two years, they've only missed one word," Morrello says proudly.
The team, which represented San Jose Unified School District, scored 29 points out of a possible 30.
When asked about the secret of their success, the students list a formula of hard work, a great coach, and each other.
For more than a month, the students plunged into intensive spelling-bee training. They copied 500 words a night, took quizzes once a week, and tallied their points on a dry erase board hanging over the classroom's blackboard.
"We wrote the words a million times," Duong recounts. The 18-year-old senior, the wise sage of the crew, says, "Mr. Morrello should get teacher of the year ... he puts so much effort into us."
"He doesn't let us quit," team supporter Isaac Fimbrez adds.
Morrello's efforts are clearly paying off. Besides helping them win the bee, the teacher also coached the two winning teams of the NASA Ames robotics competition held in Sunnyvale last month. The teams and their coach will be two of 200 teams from schools throughout the country to compete in the national finals at Walt Disney World's EPCOT Center in Orlando, Florida, next month.
In addition to the shared formula, students found their own unique sources of inspiration. Thornhill says her sister Desiree was key to supporting her on to victory. And Berry says both her sister and mom were there cheering on the sidelines. Mendez, the only one stocked with good-luck charms--including her boyfriend's ring and a small picture of him--says her sweetheart, Josue Gonzales, pushed her to victory by "believing in her."
The championship team is now thinking ahead. "Next year, they should just make the trophy with our name engraved on the plaque," Duong smiles.
|
|
|
|
Willow Glen, California Since 1992
