The word “cauterize” is not one somebody would typically use in everyday conversation – unless that person maybe worked in healthcare.
It is a verb that refers to using a heated instrument to treat a wound by burning it to prevent it from continuous bleeding or getting infected.
It also happens to be the word that won Daniel Island School eighth-grader Eva “Cate” Angle first place in the Berkeley County School District 2024 spelling bee. Philip Simmons Middle sixth-grader Carter Williams placed second and Berkeley Middle eighth-grader Cooper Scoonover placed third.
Angle attributed her big win to studying hard.
“I was just very pleasantly surprised,” she said. “Some of the words I hadn’t expected, and some of it was just having luck on my side.”
Angle was joined by the top spellers from BCSD’s 14 middle schools; each school had three spellers who qualified, plus one alternate.
The students spelled everything out in front of a panel of three judges: Jen Croley, BCSD Executive Director of Academics and Innovation; Meri Dupree, a retired BCSD administrator; and Dr. Jane Harrelson, Title I Compliance & Parent Involvement Coordinator for the district. Philip Simmons High English teacher Laura Garner served as the pronouncer. Students were supported by their families, teachers and administrators in the crowd.
Students leave the stage upon misspelling a word but the rules change a bit when the competition dwindles down to the last two spellers: if one student misspells a word, the other student is required to spell that word correctly, and then spell an additional word correctly in order to be named the winner.
Angle happened to take an online medical terminology class last semester through VirtualSC, and doing so helped familiarize her when some of the complicated medical terms thrown out during the bee; for Angle, one of those words was “cholesterol.”
Ironically, “cauterize” was not a word her class covered – but she nailed it on stage after successfully spelling out “extemporaneous.” Angle was supported by her parents, Lindsey and Russell Angle, and said her mom helped her study in preparation for the bee.
“I’m just glad I studied as hard as I did,” she said.
The top nine spellers from the district bee will now go on to participate in the regional bee in March. See list below.
Angle said she is looking forward to the next round.
“I feel very confident,” she said. “It’s going to be more difficult but I have a while and I’m just going to keep studying and hope for the best.”
Congratulations to the following students who qualified for the regional bee:
- Eva “Cate” Angle - eighth grade, Daniel Island School
- Carter Williams - sixth grade, Philip Simmons Middle
- Cooper Scoonover - eighth grade, Berkeley Middle
- Maddox Smith – eighth grade, Westview Middle
- Chance Laframboise – eighth grade, College Park Middle
- Alessandro DiStefano – seventh grade, Marrington Middle School of the Arts
- Coleman Cawood – sixth grade, Daniel Island School
- James Campion – sixth grade, Philip Simmons Middle
- Nickolas Kline – seventh grade, Marrington Middle School of the Arts
