Photo Gallery: R-E-P-E-A-T Is The Word At This Year's Spelling Bee

Version 2.0 of last year's winning team takes its second title at the annual Foundation for Belmont Education's Spelling Bee.

"Escargot." The expressions on the six young faces on the stage at Belmont High School Saturday night looked as if they had just ate a dish of cooked land snails rather then just being asked to spell the word. But the Super Spelling Cheetahs 2.0 team of six graders appeared from the audience to know that the French word had a silent "t" – much like the Gallophile pronunciation of our ville, bel-MOH – hidden at its rear. And when the white board were raised, the fifth graders of the Buzz Words team – Joia Findeis, William Titus and Anne Fletcher – appeared to have erased the needed consonant. And next to them, the Cheetahs 2.0 had the word to a "t" and were crowded this year's spelling victors. And it wouldn't have advantageous betting …

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Give Your Favorite Teacher a Gold Star

Honor educators and volunteers with a donation to the Foundation for Belmont Education.

Every year at this time, many families choose to honor Belmont teachers or staff members by making a STAR Award donation to the Foundation for Belmont Education. You may also order a Friend Award to honor that very special individual who has, for example, volunteered in a classroom, served on a PTO, or simply cares about our schools. Donations are $20 per award issued. Awards are processed at any time during the year but please order by Friday, June 8, if you wish to ensure delivery before schools close for the summer. You can go to the Foundation's online ordering format where you can order multiple awards with one transaction. There is also an option for downloading a STAR or Friend order form and mailing your donation to the Foundation…

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Foundation's Spring Fundraiser Passes $150K Mark

Record haul – $38,000 more than previous year – will fund educational programs.

The final numbers are in and the Foundation for Belmont Education's Spring Fundraiser brought in just over $150,000, a $38,000 increase over last year's impressive haul.   The highlight of the dinner/dance/auction event held last month at the Belmont Hill School – which was sold out for the fourth year running with 400 people attending – were eight live auction items that raised $33,000 (compared to last year where 16 items raised $30,000) with a dinner for 15 guests catered by Vicki Lee and Norman Fine taking in $6,200 as the top dollar donation. A Fenway Park’s Green Monster experience at $5,100 and a dinner for 10 at il Casale which took in $4,000 were the next highest money makers. Just as impressive, the on-line auction – which …

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Belmont Savings Invests in Textbooks

Bank's Foundation assists district in purchase.

Recently, the Belmont Savings Bank Foundation donated $5,000 for the Foundation for Belmont Education's textbook fund. Seen in the check presentation were Hal Tovin, chief operating officer of Belmont Savings Bank, Carolyn Boyle and Heidi Sawyer, the co-vice presidents of fundraising for the Foundation for Belmont Education, and Bob Mahoney, President and CEO of Belmont Savings Bank.

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Foundation Fundraiser Breaks Records

Annual spring auction clears $50,000 for technology, education grants at town schools.

"Fivefivefivefivefivefive?" yelled Neal Faye, a big gregarious Belmont Lions Club member who does not need a microphone to be heard. "Six! Sixsixsixsixsix?" Faye counted out, who for the fourth year has taken onto himself the role of encourager, enabler and enthusiastic auctioneer at the 13th annual Foundation for Belmont Education spring fundraiser and auction.  Up goes the program book from across the room. "Six! Yah! $3,600! You," said Faye – who appropriately enough was wearing a tie with dollar bills as a design –  before going back to the previous bidder and pointing, "Sevensevenseven?" The 400 guests who attended the sold-out event in the athletic complex at the Belmont Hill School were not disappointed with the gala – a dinner from…

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The Big Six: A Sneak Peak at the Live Auction Items At FBE's Fundraiser

And those on the outside looking in can still get in on the action with a proxy bid.

Would you like to see the Red Sox take on the Yankees July 8? How about getting behind the steering wheel of a Porsche 911 Cabriolet to travel to your own romantic two-night stay at the Wequassett Resort and Golf Club on Cape Cod? You want to stay right here in Belmont? You can host a fully-catered dinner for 15 in your home! Or put together a group of 10 and enjoy a dinner at the chef's table at il Casale. Is someone in your family a big Fenway fan? Watch a game from your four loge seats and then spend an inning behind the Green Monster, watching the old style, manually-operated scoreboard in action. Or maybe you are Bruins Fans. Imagine six of you going to the game and one of you gets to ride atop the official Bruins Zamboni during …

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Bid Now! Foundation for Belmont Education's Online Auction Begins Today

The list of 250 items from riding on a Zamboni to a week-long vacation are up for bidding.

How do you get great deals on the best of Belmont and the surrounding area and nation – tickets to sporting events including the Red Sox and Celtics, eateries, food and services and tickets to "The Colbert Report" – while helping out Belmont's schools? It's actually quite simple: You go to your computer and bid on the largest and best-ever online auction – at www.fbe-belmont.org/auction – sponsored by the Foundation for Belmont Education. And anyone can bid on the hundred of items as the online auction opens today until Sunday, March 25. "We have some amazing items available and it is open to everyone to take part in. Plus the best part: it helps all of the Belmont Public Schools. A win for everyone," said Heidi Sawyer, co-chair of the FBE…

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PHOTO GALLERY: Learning History, One Layer of Dirt at a Time

Foundation for Belmont Education grant allows students to experience a "real" archaeology dig.

Kimberley Connors is sitting in a far corner of the Chenery Middle School playing field with a class of sixth graders preparing for a history lesson that involves gloves, digging and potentially getting dirty. "Think of it as if it's a big three-layer cake," Connors told the students, preparing them for an hour of carefully removing soil. Acton-resident Connors runs Archaeology Outreach, a six-year-old company that brings the classroom experience outdoors in an hands-on approach to learning about archaeology. There will be diggers, screeners and scribes," said Connors, who with her assistant Jeanette Wilkerson, guide the students in discovering artifacts in a scientific manner, rather than the "Indiana Jones" approach to archeology. "He's …

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PHOTO GALLERY: Super Cheetahs Spell Their Way to the Top

Foundation for Belmont Education's 11th annual contest raises money for group's projects.

Q-u-y ... Q-u-e-y-e ... Q-u-w-h-y ... When it comes to spelling the word for the first effective treatment for malaria, you should head over to Mr. Laux's fifth-grade classroom at the Chenery Middle School and ask one of the Super Spelling Cheetahs. No, these cheetahs aren't caged but, in fact, are the team of Abigail Mohr, Catherine He and Rida Sharief who not only spelled the word correctly – it's QUININE – but are also the undisputed champions of the 11th annual Foundation for Belmont Education's Belmont Youth Spelling Bee contested in Belmont High School's auditorium all day Saturday, Nov. 5. The Cheetahs were impressive, not missing a word in the prelims and finals that lasted 12 rounds before the pride of the sixth grade, the Honey …

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Bee There or Bee Square: 11th Annual Belmont Spelling Bee Saturday

Yearly contest with Kindergarten-6th graders benefits the Foundation for Belmont Education.

The spelling variety of bees will be swarming to Belmont High School Saturday, Nov. 5, beginning at 3 p.m. to participate in the 11th annual Foundation for Belmont Education Youth Spelling Bee. Students from kindergarten to sixth graders from the town's elementary schools and Chenery Middle School prepare by reviewing word lists and on the day of the bee the spellers participate in three or four-person teams. The teams – swarms – go onto the stage and will be asked words from the list. They will write the (correct) word on a team white board by either a designated writer or rotate that responsibility. The kindergarten, first and second grade swarms, as well as the third and fourth grade swarms, are non-competitive. Teams will be told if …

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