It took 27 contestants and nearly 300 words to crown a winner in this year’s BCMS Spelling Bee.
On January 17, students in grades 6-8 took part in a heated competition that had students spelling words ranging from new entries like “newfangled” to the classics like “mischievous.”
In the end, Arnav Jakkamsetti and Heidi Wood were the Bee’s top spellers, with Jakkamsetti eventually pulling out a victory with the accurate spelling of “ineptitude” in the Championship Round.
Jakkamsetti will advance to the Regional Qualifier Bee later this month.
The district’s English Language Arts (ELA) department supervisor Daniel Hash oversees the annual spelling bee at the middle school. Library Media Specialist Silvia Lilly served as a judge and record keeper for this year’s event.
“A special thank you to Ms. Lilly and to all of our ELA classroom teachers who helped prepare our students by holding classroom contests leading up to the Bee,” said Mr. Hash. “And a big congratulations to Arnav. We will all be rooting for you!”