Livermore School District Hosts Spelling Bees

The Livermore Valley Joint Unified School District Spelling Bees were held on January 20 and 27 at the district offices.

Parents, teachers and friends gathered to watch 48 students, from grades 4-6, compete for the title of Spelling Bee Champion. After 28 rounds of challenging words such as “vagrancy,” “silhouette,” and “mischievous,” three top winners emerged. The first place winner was Audrey Yang, a fourth grade student at Altamont Creek Elementary. Audrey’s winning word was “castanets,” however she also had to correctly spell the word “corrugated” to earn the victory. When Audrey was asked how she became such an amazing speller, the diminutive champion replied, “It appears in my head, then I just spell it.”

Second place went to Reese Chy, a sixth grade student at Mendenhall Middle School, and third place went to Sujin Leek, a sixth grade student at Christensen Middle School. All three girls earned the right to represent Livermore in the Alameda County Spelling Bee.

In the second Spelling Bee contest, 21 students in 7th and 8th grade competed on January 27th. After 12 rounds, the following three competitors emerged. First place went to Esandi Kurulugama, an eighth grade student from Mendenhall Middle School, second place to Theodore Deane, eighth grade student from Mendenhall, and 3rd place to Alicia Zhang, a seventh grade student from East Avenue Middle School. Esandi’s winning word was “ratatouille,” however she also had to correctly spell “chartreuse” to earn the win. When she was asked how she prepared for the spelling contest, Esandi commented that this was her third trip to the District Spelling Bee, she is an avid reader, and that she practiced her words an average of one hour per day.

The winners from both District Spelling Bees will compete in the Alameda County Spelling Bee, which will be held on March 12th in Castro Valley. Congratulations to all of the winners, and best of luck at the upcoming Alameda County Spelling Bee.

Announcement, photo submitted by Livermore Valley Joint Unified School District