CCSD students participate in the annual Spelling Bee

Jacobi Holck from Horizon Community Middle School was confident when she heard the final word at the district’s annual spelling bee was “Quebec” after spelling “defamatory” correctly.

“Quebec… Q-U-E-B-E-C,” Holck spelled, then threw her hands in the air with excitement after winning the 2023 District Spelling Bee.

Holck and second place winner Anish Allu from Sky Vista Middle School went back and forth for eight rounds. 34 elementary and middle school finalists from across the district competed in the oral spelling bee on Saturday, Jan. 28 for the top title of Spelling Bee Champion. It took about three hours and 9 rounds to decide the district’s best speller. The top 20 students will now take the written State Bee test.

1^st Place Jacobi Holck – Horizon Middle School, 8^th Grade

2^nd Place Anish Allu – Sky Vista Middle School, 6^th Grade

3^rd Place Olivia Veiga – Creekside Elementary, 5^th Grade

4^th Place Will Raleigh - Challenge School, 7^th Grade

5^th Place Mishaal Bilal – Cottonwood Creek Elementary, 5^th Grade

6^th Place Kassidy Owens – Liberty Middle School, 8^th Grade

7^th Place Gentry Gordon – Challenge School, 7^th Grade

8^th Place Charlie Rochford – Holly Hills Elementary School, 5^th Grade

9^th Place Utkarsh Salgar – Sky Vista Middle School, 8^th Grade

10^th Place Chance Fischer – Antelope Ridge Elementary School, 4^th Grade

11^th Place Brahan Eashwar – West Middle School, 8^th Grade

12^th Place Anika Lukhey – Fox Ridge Middle School, 8^th Grade

13^th Place Aishwarya Manian – Campus Middle School, 8^th Grade

14^th Place Mara Knowlton – Thunder Ridge Middle School, 6^th Grade

15^th Place Grant Lee – Liberty Middle School, 8^th Grade

16^th Place Lena Gordon – Laredo Middle School, 8^th Grade

17^th Place Leo Yadav – Challenge School, 8^th Grade

18^th Place Iona Christy – Laredo Middle School, 8^th Grade

19^th Place Alekzander Berecz – West Middle School, 6^th Grade

20^th Place Shruti Rajan – Aspen Crossing Elementary School, 5^th Grade

On Friday, the district held a written spelling test with 200 students participating with 40 words. Deputy Superintendent Jennifer Perry helped with the award ceremony on Saturday.

“We are so proud of our students and the sportsmanship they showed during the competition,” Perry said. “These students have modeled the commitment to growth that is so important to foster a lifelong love of learning.”

Posted 1/30/23.