More than 100 students compete in Robbinsdale Area Schools Spelling Bee

More than 100 students in grades 2-5 competed in the sixth-annual Robbinsdale Area Schools Spelling Bee Saturday, Feb. 28, at Robbinsdale Middle School.

Preliminary and semi-final rounds took place in classrooms, and a practice round was held so that students were able to figure out how the process works before the actual competition started. Each grade group was given a list of grade-appropriate words. For example, second-graders spelled words like “yarn” and “print,” and fifth-graders tackled tongue-twisters like “ukulele” and “dromedary.”

One-hundred and three students competed in this year’s event, but in the end, only four to five from each age group made it onstage in the final round of competition.

“I am proud that this Spelling Bee celebrates academic achievement, but is open to the entire community,” said Diane Dickmeyer, youth activities coordinator with RobbinsdaleCommunity Education. “It is not a competition that takes the winners from each school to compete against each other - rather, it allows anyone to take a risk. I would like to congratulate each of the students that participated in this year’s event.”

Here are the winners (by grade level):

2nd Grade:

· 1st Place: Sydney Podany - Noble Elementary

· 2nd Place: Laela Dowell - Lakeview Elementary

· Other finalists: Nils Johanson (home-schooled) and Brendan Klaphake (SEA)

3rd Grade:

· 1st Place: Candace Lewis - Northport Elementary

· 2nd Place: Maheen Rahmatullah - Robbinsdale Spanish Immersion

· Other finalists: Jermaine Jones (Meadow Lake) and Nora Vladimirova (SEA)

4th Grade:

· 1st Place: Zain Adatia - Robbinsdale Spanish Immersion

· 2nd Place: Alyssa Condon - Robbinsdale Spanish Immersion

· Other finalists: Duffy Watson (St. Raphaels), Kaden Starcznski (Zachary Lane) and Josh Ternyak (Zachary Lane)

5th Grade:

· 1st Place: Amir Seman - Lakeview Elementary

· 2nd Place: Aleah Anderson - Zachary Lane Elementary

· Other finalists: Adrian Haro, Yashodhara Jayawardena and Catherine Van Wey (all from Robbinsdale Spanish Immersion)