Photo courtesy of Kyrene School District
Top spellers from across Kyrene competed at the Kyrene School District Spelling Bee on Thursday, Jan. 18, at Kyrene Altadeña Middle School. Isabelle Garcia, a seventh-grade student at Kyrene del Pueblo Middle School earned the title of District Champion. After six roller-coaster rounds and 105 words, Garcia correctly spelled the championship word vengeance to clinch the title.
In the sixth and final round, Garcia spelled affiliate correctly, followed by the anticipated championship word. This year, there was a three-way tie for second place among students from three Kyrene elementary schools. All four students will advance to the Maricopa County Regional Bee in February. Kyrene’s top four outstanding spellers who will compete next month are:
• Isabelle Garcia (seventh grade), Kyrene del Pueblo Middle School
• Shaye Cormican (fourth grade), Kyrene de los Cerritos Leadership Academy
• Pepper DiGrazia (fifth grade), Kyrene de la Sierra Elementary School
• Hamza Muhammud (fifth grade), Kyrene de las Brisas Elementary School
A total of 25 Kyrene spellers competed in the event after winning their individual school spelling bees and tackled words such as elocution, whereas, and yore, to name a few.
The Maricopa County Regional Bee will take place on February 17 at Franklin Accelerated Academy/Brimhall in Mesa. The top two spellers from the regional bee will continue to the Arizona State Spelling Bee where they will compete for a spot at the 2024 Scripps National Spelling Bee.
