William Paterson University Will Host 67th Annual North Jersey Spelling Bee, Presented by The Record and Herald News

The 67th annual North Jersey Spelling Bee, an event that promotes middle school students’ communication skills and interest in word usage, will be held at William Paterson University in Wayne. The final spelling bee will be held on March 22 at 6 p.m. in the Machuga Student Center Ballroom.

The Herald News has sponsored this event since its inception in 1935. It is the only local program affiliated with the Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee. The Record became a co-sponsor of the event in 1999. “The bees are considered an educational enhancement program and therefore are part of the literacy programs sponsored by the Herald News and The Record,” said Diane Haines, community relations manager of the North Jersey Media Group, the publisher of both newspapers.

Spelling Bee participants include sixth through eighth grade students, enrolled in public and private schools in Bergen, Essex, Morris, Sussex and Passiac counties. Home-schooled children can also enter through their home-school associations. The North Jersey Spelling Bee champion receives a weeklong, all-expenses-paid trip to the Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C., an engraved plaque and a personal computer, courtesy of P.C. Richard & Son. The champion’s school also receives a plaque and is allowed to display the Fred A. Stehle Memorial Trophy until next year’s winner is declared.

William Paterson University, one of the nine stage colleges and universities in New Jersey, offers 30 undergraduate and 19 graduate programs through five colleges: Arts and Communication, Business, Education, Humanities and Social Sciences, and Science and Health. Located on the 370 hilltop acres in Wayne, the university enrolls approximately 11,200 students and provides housing for nearly 2,300 students. The institution’s 363 full-time faculty are highly distinguished and diverse scholars and teachers, many of whom are recipients of prestigious awards and grants from the Fullbright Program (30 scholars), the Guggenheim Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation and the American Philosophical Society.

For Further Information, contact:

Mary Beth Zeman, Director, Public Relations 973-720-2966

3/12/04