By Liz McBreen
Her win on March 27 came after twelve semi-final rounds when she correctly spelled "tanager," (a songbird in the Thraupidae family, found in the forests of North and South America that is usually fairly small and brightly colored in bold patterns with a conical bill) to keep her champion title. Goldstein said she was, "very happy, excited and relieved because there was a possibility I was not going to make it again."
Goldstein now moves on to represent the Long Island community in Washington D.C. on Memorial Day Weekend at the Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee. At last year's national competition she came in third, and in 2000, she tied for 7th in the nation. The 2001 winner was Goldstein's brother, Ari, who made it to the eighth round at the nationals that year. Goldstein's older sister Amy also went to the national bee in Washington in 1998 and tied for fourth place.
This year's runner-up, Stephanie Hayman, reprised her role as runner-up. Hayman, a 7th grader at North Country Middle School, will be eligible to compete next year while this year marks the end of Goldstein's spelling competition years.
"Now it's time to get JJ home and start her studying," remarked Jerry Lippman, editor of the Long Island Jewish World newspaper, the sponsor of the event. "Then she can go to Washington in May and win for Long Island!"
Goldstein won a copy of the latest edition of the Merriam-Webster Dictionary (which includes a new addendum), a $500 savings bond from Samuel Louis Sugarman, tickets to the theater production of A Year with Frog & Toad, $100 to Ben's Kosher Delicatessen Restaurants & Caterers and a Scripps Howard "Bee-Week" t-shirt.
The students who took part in the Island-wide Bee were from grades four through eight, and had won their own schools' spelling bees, and then a round of semifinals in February.
All the winners of these contests advance to the national finals. The purpose of the contest is "to help students improve their spelling, increase their vocabularies, learn concepts and develop correct English usage."
Goldstein intends to prepare for the national bee by studying with her mother. According to Mona Goldstein, the family has collected numerous wordlists over the years. Her daughter Amy began preparing for the national bee in 1997.
The final round of the Long Island bee took place in the Nostrand Theatre on the Suffolk Community College Campus.
The 2003 Long Island Spelling Champions are:
1st Place: JJ Goldstein, 8th grade, North Shore Hebrew Academy
2nd Place: Stephanie Hayman, 7th grade, North Country Road Middle School
3rd Place: Christine Chung, 7th grade, Herricks Middle School
4th Place: Jelani Decosta, 4th grade, Milburn Elementary School
5th Place: Chetram Deochand, 6th grade, Forest Road School
