Last week, St. Margaret’s Middle School participated in the school level of the nation’s largest spelling bee. Students from grades 6, 7, and 8 took the first round of spelling bee quizzes in their English classes to determine grade level winners. The top spellers in each grade gathered in the Campaigne Center on Friday, January 15, in front of their classmates, teachers and families, to compete for the top three positions in St. Margaret’s 17th Annual Middle School Spelling Bee.

As English teacher and English department chair Jeni Johnson explained, students had prepared for the school-level round of competition by studying booklets produced by the Scripps Company and Merriam-Webster. The booklets provide information about more than 1,000 word origins, and offer tips and rules to help students remember the correct spelling of challenging words.

At the competition, Mrs. Johnson explained that words in each round would become progressively more difficult. The first-round words were read aloud by English teacher Billy Assaf. Words included crochet, yacht, and impetuous. At the end of round one, 13 students had been eliminated and 16 remained.

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Mrs. Johnson read words for the second round, featuring words such as filament and mediocre. After Kenley Farace, grade 7, correctly spelled “pumpernickel,” the crowd cheered. At the conclusion of the second round only one sixth-grade student, Kevin Cox, remained in the competition representing his grade level.

When there were three competitors remaining, the final, and most challenging, stage of the competition began, with words read by English teacher Lori Donchak. Contestants were asked to write their answers on wipe boards and display the words to the judges and audience. As the final round concluded, Mrs. Johnson announced that Kenley Farace, grade 7, had placed first; Julianna Coleman, grade 8, placed second; and Andrew Victor, grade 8, placed third. Kenley and Julianna will go on to compete in the written round of the Orange County Spelling Bee on February 22. Good luck to Kenley and Julianna!

Congratulations to all the students who were selected to participate in the spelling bee! Sixth Grade participants: Rostin Amirani, William Burns, Kevin Cox, Frederick Hudoff, Alain Kassarjian, Veronika Laird, Alex Lawerence, Megan Phansalkar, Laurel Smith. Seventh Grade partipants: Gabby Axelson, Charlie Beall, Sean Chang, Jaclyn Coppen, Kenley Farace, JeanneAnn Faris, Hannah Ghivanni, Greg Justice, Liam McGregor, Collin Price. Eighth Grade participants: Kelly Burk, Julianna Coleman, Hunter Edington, Branden Henry, Chris Heximer, Tessa Hurr, Brooks Robinson, Brandon Snyder, Sam Tedori, Andrew Victor.

Tags: Academics, Middle School