Schools
Lake Elsinore Student To Show Off Spelling Prowess
Students from across Riverside County, including Lake Elsinore, will put their word power to the test Wednesday at the County Spelling Bee.
MORENO VALLEY, CA - More than two-dozen students in grades 4-8 will be putting their word power to the test Wednesday in the 40th annual Riverside County Spelling Bee.
The event will begin at 9 a.m. at the Moreno Valley Conference & Recreation Center, with multiple rounds planned into the afternoon, according to the county Office of Education.
"They'll be there, spelling words, for as long as it takes," agency spokesman Craig Petinak told City News Service.
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A total 27 students from public and private schools throughout the county are slated to take part in the spelling bee. Two dozen alternates will also be on hand in case the principals drop out due to illness or other unforeseen factors, according to Petinak.
Last year's winner, Aisha Randhawa from Garretson Elementary School in the Corona-Norco Unified School District, will be back for another go at the championship title. She finished in the top 50 at the 2016 Scripps National Spelling Bee.
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Petinak said 12 of this year's competitors also took part in either the 2015 or 2016 bees.
Among first-time contestants is fourth-grader Laya Noelle Sy from the Temecula Valley Unified School District. She's an avid chess player who has competed in matches nationally, according to Petinak.
Other school districts that will be represented at the bee are:
- Alvord Unified School District;
- Banning Unified;
- Beaumont Unified;
- Coachella Valley Unified;
- Desert Center Unified;
- Desert Sands Unified;
- Hemet Unified;
- Lake Elsinore Unified;
- Menifee Union;
- Moreno Valley Unified;
- Murrieta Valley Unified;
- Nuview Union;
- Palm Springs Unified;
- Palo Verde Unified;
- Perris Union;
- Romoland Unified;
- San Jacinto Unified; and
- Val Verde Unified.
The following unaffiliated schools will also have students in the competition: Pechanga, River Springs Charter, Santa Rosa Academy, St. Jeanne de Lestomac, St. Theresa, Temecula Preparatory and Van Avery Preparatory.
The overall winner of the bee will represent Riverside County in the national contest, scheduled for May 27-June 2 in Oxon Hill, Maryland.
- City News Service / Image via Riverside County Office of Education
