The Upham PTO team practically danced off the stage Wednesday night after winning the 30th annual Wellesley Spelling Bee just 3 words into the final round. The winning word: “Jarabe,” referring to a Mexican dance.
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More than 40 teams, consisting of students, teachers, public safety officials and other community members, packed lots of laughs and excitement into a tidy 90-or-so minute event, all to raise money for enrichment programs through Wellesley Education Foundation. Last round drama included the defending champion Health Advances team being allowed back on stage via a lottery system after getting knocked out in an earlier round.
Challenging words throughout the night included “acquiesced” and “hemachate.”
Nearly as impressive as the Upham team’s victory was the Bee Gee’s win as most spirited team.
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![Mark Ito, Jamie Chisum wellesley bee](https://media.theswellesleyreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/12231956/jamie-chisum-gong-524x348.jpg)
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