The San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools held its 3rd annual Spelling Bee competition and awards ceremony on March 15 and crowned two first-place champions.
Phoebe Laguna, a fifth grader from Granite Mountain Charter School, and Jupharnoor Singh, an eighth grader from Etiwanda School District’s Heritage Intermediate School, were each named first-place champions.
“Having two students from our county advance as two first-place champions is a testament to their intelligence, perseverance, and mental fortitude,” said County Superintendent Ted Alejandre.
Laguna and Singh will forge ahead to the 2023 Scripps National Spelling Bee where they will compete against more than 200 other students.
Participating school districts in this year’s Bee included Adelanto Elementary School District, Alta Loma Elementary School District, Apple Valley Unified School District, Chino Valley Unified School District, Etiwanda Elementary School District, Ontario-Montclair School District, San Bernardino City Unified School District and Upland Unified School District.
Charter and private schools included Empire Springs Charter, Granite Mountain Charter, Inland Leaders Charter, Pacific Southwest District Lutheran, and Church Missouri Synod.
The 2023 Spelling Bee Champions are:
· Tenth Place Champion – Ames Avarell, 6th Grade, Inland Leaders Charter
· Tenth Place Champion – Steven Fletcher, 6th Grade, Del Rosa Elementary, San Bernardino City Unified School District
· Tenth Place Champion – Yahya Tchich, 6th Grade, Summit Intermediate, Etiwanda School District
· Ninth Place Champion – Gbolawole Maseyi, 8th Grade, Richardson PREP HI Middle School, San Bernardino City Unified School District
· Eighth Place Champion– Mariah Glasper, 5th Grade, Theodore Vick Elementary, Adelanto Elementary School District
· Seventh Place Champion – Joel Bak, 5th Grade, John L. Golden Elementary, Etiwanda School District
· Sixth Place Champion – Serah Joy, 8th Grade, Empire Springs Charter
· Fifth Place Champion – Ruth Hernandez, 8th Grade, El Mirage, Adelanto Elementary School District
· Fourth Place Champion – Samuel Mathew, 5th Grade, Caryn Elementary School, Etiwanda School District
· Third Place Champion – Shreya Patel, 7th Grade, Day Creek Intermediate, Etiwanda School District
· First Place Champion – Jupharnoor Singh, 8th Grade, Heritage Intermediate, Etiwanda School District
· First Place Champion – Phoebe Laguna, 5th Grade, Granite Mountain Charter
The 2023 Scripps National Spelling Bee will be held May 28 through June 2 in National Harbor, Maryland.
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