District 140 Spelling Bee Won by Jillian Cereneche

Congratulations to District 140’s newest Spelling Bee Champion, Jillian Cereneche, a fifth-grader from McAuliffe Elementary School who clinched victory by correctly spelling “respiratory.” Fifth-grader Layla Schacht, also from McAuliffe Elementary School, came in a close second. Third-place honors went to Grissom Middle School's eighth-grader Gabriella Garritano.

Jillian will represent D140 in the 15th Annual Suburban Cook County ISC Scripps Spelling Bee at Lincoln Hall School in Lincolnwood on Tuesday, February 25.

“I’m constantly amazed by the determination and skill our students bring to the District Spelling Bee,” said GATE Resource Teacher Kate Robinson. “Every participant deserves recognition for representing their schools with such enthusiasm and commitment.”

Competing in the spell-off were the top two building-level representatives from each of the district’s seven schools - 14 competitors from grades four through eight. D140 GATE teachers Kate Robinson and Nicole Collins coordinated the competition.

Runners-up included George Bender and John Qureshi from Bannes Elementary; Riley Klomp and Chehada Qattum from Fernway Park Elementary; Roxanne Moraga from Grissom Middle School; Grayson Agui and Christopher Bonny from Keller Elementary; Motaz Alqudah and Lyla Meskill from Millennium Elementary; and Noah Ahmad and Declan Hurley from Prairie View Middle School.

Congratulations to all!