Northeast Elementary School’s Spelling Bee not only tested spelling skills, but also supported a cause.  The R² spelling competition’s founders, Andy Sklover and Elizabeth Kenny, both have children named Ryan who have type-one diabetes.

“That’s why we called it the R squared Spelling Bee,” said Kenny.

Proceeds from the first annual Bee will go to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, the largest charitable supporter of Type 1 Diabetes, as well as the school’s Parent Teacher Organization.

“There are more and more kids diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes everyday.  So it’s very extraordinary that there’s only two children in this very large school.”

Kenny says they decided to create a fundraiser for the JDRF that’s kid-involved, and educational.

“In today’s world when you have all that technology where you spell-check everything, I think spelling is a lost art.  So we also felt as if this program would bring that back,” said Kenny.

Student finalists in grades 3 through 5 were quizzed per class, as well as adult competitors in a second round.   Organizers say they raised 4,000 dollars in the beginning of the evening, and hoped to reach their goal of 5,000.  

The student winners are as follows:

3rd grade: Arjun Batra who won by correctly spelling "mislead"

4th grade: Christian Rubino Chuckas, who correctly spelled "obliterate"

5th grade:  Gordon Ensign, who correctly spelled "taboo"

Each student won a Kindle Fire, and an Amazon.com gift certificate.