Oswego Eighth-Grader D.C.-Bound For Scripps National Spelling Bee

Caption: Eighth-grader Aditya Nadkarni of Benarcik Junior High School in Oswego will represent Kendall and Grundy Counties in the national Scripps Spelling Bee in May.

Bednarcik Junior High School eighth-grader Aditya Nadkarni will represent Grundy and Kendall counties in the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C., May 24-29. Nadkarni edged out 20 other students from both public and private schools to win first place at the Grundy/Kendall Regional Office of Education Spelling Bee.

“I’m grateful to the parents of our students for suggesting we compete in the spelling bee,” Bednarcik principal Sharon Alexander said. “Our parents advocated, and we listened. We started participating again last year after a long absence.”

In 2014, Bednarcik eighth-grader Julia Grove won third place in the regional competition.

The regional spelling bee was held at the Morris Community High School Auditorium on February 28. Nadkarni placed first, just ahead of Cameron Cimino of Minooka Junior High School, after spelling more than 200 words correctly during 33 rounds of competition.

The Scripps National Spelling Bee is held on an annual basis. The nation’s oldest and largest spelling bee, it is administered on a not-for-profit basis by The E.W. Scripps Company. Its goals are to help students improve spelling, increase vocabulary and develop correct English usage. For more information, go to Spelling Bee.

Source: Community Unit School Dist. 308