Four local students going to state spelling bees
Four Humboldt County students will be headed to state spelling bees in May after claiming top honors in the Humboldt County Spelling Bee held on March 6. The State Junior High Spelling Bee will take place May 2 in San Rafael and the State Elementary School Spelling Bee will take place May 9 in Stockton.
Avery Saunders from Morris Middle School and Jami Hern from Klamath Trinity Elementary School were co-champions at the elementary school level, and two Alder Grove Charter School students, Aurora Pitts and Abigail Wagner were co-champions at the junior high school level.
The final two words the students had for spelling in the junior high level of competition were “arenaceous” (sandy, or growing in sand) and “microfiche” (a sheet of microfilm containing rows of images of printed pages).
“This event truly was a wonderful opportunity to highlight exceptional spellers and student in our county,” said Olivia Kernen, Humboldt County Spelling Bee Coordinator. “I would also like to send a big thank you to all the educators, parents, and community members who helped support and celebrate this event,” she added.
The 18 participants in the Humboldt County Spelling Bee were regional champions from throughout the county, 10 at the elementary school level (4th through 6th grades) and eight at the junior high level (7th through 9th grades).
Kernen said of the Humboldt County Spelling Bee participants, “These students represented the top spellers in the county, as they qualified for this event by winning school and regional spelling bees held earlier this year.”
The two elementary school spelling champions from the Eel River Valley who participated but did not place in the Humboldt County Spelling Bee were Kinzie Smith-Lang from Hydesville School and Avery Naset from Redwood Preparatory Charter School in Fortuna. They were the cham
pions at the Eel River Valley Spelling Bee which was held on Feb. 13 at the Fortuna River Lodge. SmithLang and Naset were the top spellers in a field of 18
students and were selected after nine rounds of words competition.
Schools competing in the Eel River Valley Spelling Bee were Bridgeville, Cuddeback, Ferndale, Fortuna Middle, Hydesville, Redwood Preparatory Charter, Rio Dell, Scotia, and Loleta.