GUEST VIEW MJUSD students advance to county spelling championship

Did you know the District Spelling Bee competition is once again back? Since 1925, children across America have participated in classroom, school and regional spelling bees with the hope of making it to the Scripps National Spelling Bee competition in Washington, D.C., in May. The Bee program begins with millions of students at schools across the country. In February and March, regional partners host Regional Spelling Bees and celebrate the champions who will advance to the national competition.

The MJUSD District Spelling Bee was held on Thursday, March 9th, in the gym at Anna Mckenney Intermediate School. The event was organized by Hector Gonzalez, Director of English Learners and Student Supports, who put in a tremendous amount of work to bring this annual competition back to life after the pandemic. The last time this was held was in 2019 at Edgewater Elementary School.

The students who participated in Thursday’s District competition won spelling contests at their school sites. Eight winners from the District Spelling Bee will now advance to the county competition. These students had to spell some tough words and they did an incredible job. I am so proud of all who stepped up to compete.

Congratulations to our 4th-6th grade winners – Josey Chitwood from Cordua (1st place); Luis Zavala from Johnson Park (2nd place); Adalynn Delaney from Browns Valley (3rd place); and Raine Mediate from Foothill (4th place) – and to our 7th-8th grade winners – Ryan Delaney from Foothill (1st place),

Roman Franco from Arboga (2nd place); Aaron Lam from Yuba Gardens (3rd place); and Caelyn Bowen from Foothill (4th place).

I would like to extend a big thank you to all the parents, administrators and teachers who were present at the event. The students were so excited to participate. Director of Adult Programs and Community Partnerships Bob Eckardt moderated the event.

The Yuba County Spelling Championships will be held on Thursday, March 23, at the Government Center. The elementary competition begins at 5:30 p.m. and the intermediate competition will follow.

The winners of the county competition will advance to the State Spelling Bee in May. Good luck to all and congratulations again!