Fahmida Sarmin and Monica Sucharski were thrilled to be the first- and second-place winners, respectively, in this year’s Philadelphia Tribune/Scripps Howard Spelling Bee held Saturday.

Sarmin, 12, a seventh-grade student at the Penn Alexander School, and Sucharski, 13, a seventh-grade student at St. Christopher School, appeared poised and mature beyond their years, seeming to take their winning as a matter of fact, but still expressing that they were “excited.”

“I study everyday,” said Sarmin, who hopes to become a medical doctor and a writer. And, likewise, said Sucharski, “I study a lot.” Her plans for the future will include teaching, she said.

She spelled “bureaucracy,” to be the second-place winner. Sarmin spelled “glasnost.”

“I feel very, very good. I am happy today,” said Sarmin’s father, Mohammed Haque. The family is originally from Bangladesh. His daughter, he said “is always reading.”

Monica has participated in previous spelling bees. Still, her parents, Bill and Sue Sucharski, said they were “proud” and “excited” for their daughter.

“This has been a wonderful experience,” said Sue Sucharski.

The Philadelphia Tribune has been conducting the spelling bee for the past 10 years, and each year a winner from this area goes on to Washington for the national competition, which is now in its 80th year.

About 240 newspapers participate in the Scripps Howard competition. Independence Blue Cross joined The Tribune, for the sixth year, in sponsoring the local competition.

Mariska Bogle, The Tribune’s director of Strategic Planning and Business Development, coordinated the event.

The second floor auditorium at the School District of Philadelphia headquarters was overflowing with parents, family and friends cheering on their favorite spellers. Felecia D. Ward, media relations manager for the school district, provided greetings.

The Spelling Bee was a dignified affair, with serious students taking on a serious pursuit and accepting challenges with dignity and grace.

In the end, only one would get the big prize, a trip to Washington, D.C., to compete in the national Scripps Howard Spelling Bee Competition. Both Monica and Fahmida will receive a computer and printer from the regional competition.

The Saturday morning Spelling Bee activities began with the Fifth Grade Spelldown, with participants from parochial, private, public and charter schools. Five winners from this competition joined sixth, seventh and eighth graders for the final Regional Bee.

They were Chelsea McNeil, 11, of the Discovery Charter School; Abeni Watts, 10, of the Harambee Charter School; Sydiah Thomas, 10, from the Julia Masterman school; Siani White, 10, of the Laboratory Charter school; and Kenny Chen, 11, of the General George A. McCall school.

The Discovery, Harambee and Imani charter schools held their own spelling bees to select participants for The Tribune/Scripps Howard event.

Karen Turner of the Temple University Department of Journalism was the Spelling Bee pronouncer. The judges were Amy Holdsman, executive director of the White-Williams Scholars program; Hortense LeVere, a reading specialist; and Joyce R. Williams, manager of Community Outreach and Education for Independence Blue Cross.