The North-South Foundation (NSF) held Spelling Bee, Vocabulary and Math Bee Contests at the Maclaurin Buildings in MIT on the 4th of April. On this busy Sunday, a deluge of children of varying age groups with their parents flocked the maze of hallways as they participated in the various events. The contests included Junior and Senior Vocabulary and Junior and Senior Spelling Bees. Also for the first time ever, the NSF included a Math Bee Contest in its agenda. The event was co-sponsored by the ATFS Learning Center, AID-BOSTON and the India Society of Worcester.

The first events of the day were the Junior and Senior Vocabulary contest. The Vocabulary contest was held in two phases. The first phase was the oral phase where children were asked to pick the meaning of a given work from a set of choices. The second phase was a written test. Ankit Gupta won the senior vocabulary contest for his second straight win in consecutive years.

The Math Bee Contest was held next. It included a single written test. It was held at four levels for children in different age groups. Then came the Spelling Bee. The first phase of the Spelling Bee was the oral contest. This part of the contest featured several outstanding children spell complex words before their expectant parents and other spectators. The next phase of the Spelling Bee contest was a written test.

This Spelling Bee was one of the most competitive contests ever. There were three rounds of tiebreakers in the Junior Spelling Bee. Ultimately, Saloni Jain from Sage School bagged the 1st place in this contest for the second straight year. She also won the 1st place in the Math Level 1 contest.

The Senior Spelling Bee was equally enthralling. Gifted 4th graders competed with 7th graders in this contest. Ramesh Govindan won the 1st place in the Senior Bee while Akshat Shekhar the youngest participant at the senior level took home the 3rd prize. Ramesh and Akshat also won the 1st and 3rd prizes in the junior Vocabulary contests. Both talented lads have won prizes in three straight years.

The finale of the day’s events was the prize distribution ceremony where prizes were awarded to the winners. Consolation certificates and medals were presented to all participants. The winners at this state level contest will participate at the national championships on August 27th and 28th at Arizona. We wish them the best of luck.

The event was a tremendous success for the North-South Foundation. More than 200 children took part in the event. While this event will stand out as a treasured memory for the winners, it will certainly be a learning experience for all participants. Shitanshu Shekhar, Madavi Nathan Oliver ,Arvind Sharaf from AID Boston ,Gauri Chandana and numerous other volunteers, judges and ‘pronouncers’ deserve special mention for their hard work in presenting this well organized event.

With over 40 centers in the United States, the North South Foundation conducts several educational contests across the country. In India, the NSF supports education by helping needy children get a college education. NSF has given away over 2000 scholarships in the past 10 years. Each scholarship is worth $200 and supports a student through one year of college. The Massachusetts and New Hampshire chapters of the North South Foundation are organizing their 4th annual fund raising Walkathon on Sunday the 27th of June at the Hopkinton State park.

JUNIOR VOCABULARY-
First Place - Ramesh Govindan, Grade 7 from Luther Burbank Middle School in Lancaster.
Second Place - Vishrut Gupta, Grade 7 from RJ Grey Junior High in Acton
Third Place - Akshat Shekhar, Grade 4 from Clifford Marshal Elementary in Quincy
SENIOR VOCABULARY
First place-Ankit Gupta, Grade 7 from Acton Boxboro Jr High in Acton
Second Place -Rishi Singh, Grade 8 from Dartmouth Middle in Dartmouth
MATH BEE
LEVEL 1
First Place- Saloni Jain, Grade 2 from Sage School in Foxboro
Second Place - Ruchira Parikh, Grade 2 from Charles J Prescott Elementary School in Norwood
Third Place - Voboosh Chandrashekhar, Grade2, from Lawrence School in Brookline
LEVEL 2
First Place- Priya Donti, Grade 5 from Annie Sargent in North Andover
Second Place - Supriya Jain, Grade 3 from Sage School in Foxboro
Third Place - Ramya Ghantasala, Grade 5 from Norman E Day in Westford
LEVEL 3
First Place - Sowmya Varada, Grade 7 from John Glenn Middle in Bedford
Second Place - Vishrut Gupta 7 from RJ Grey Junior High in Acton
Third Place - Prasant Ghantasala 7 from Stony Brook Middle in Westford
JUNIOR SPELLING BEE
First Place - Saloni Jain 2 from Sage School in Foxboro
Second Place - Maya Jay 2 from Sage School in Walpole
Third Place - Abhinav Pandey 3 from Hannah Elementary in Peabody
SENIOR SPELLING BEE
First Place - Ramesh Govindan, Grade 7 from Luther Burbank Middle School in Lancaster
Second Place - Kirshnan Chandra , Grade 6 from West Middle in Andover
Third Place - Akshat Shekhar, Grade 4 from Clifford Marshal Elementary in Quincy

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