Sonali Koo, winner of the DSMS Spelling Bee
The School Spelling Bee season comes to a close in the Dover Sherborn Schools with two students moving on to Regional competition.
In its fourth year of participating in the Scripps Spelling Bee, Chickering's Spelling Bee program has garnered much interest among elementary students. 55 students across grades 1-5 participated in a weekly after-school Spelling Club to learn spelling tips and prepare for competition. In front of a full audience, 38 students competed on January 19 and spelled through 24 rounds, including words like "eurythmics," "doppelganger," and "cirrhosis." After two and a half hours of spelling, five students got past the list from the 450-word study guide and reached the part of the competition where the source of words was the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Valerie Vinegoni (3rd grader) came in 5th place. Sophie Haydon (3rd grader) and Mark Thampy-Abraham (4th grader) tied for 3rd. Saheli Koo (4th grader) came in 2nd place, and Akshay Venkataraman (4th grader) was the Chickering School Champion.
Akshay Venkataraman, winner of the Chickering School Spelling Bee
The Dover Sherborn Middle School held its inaugural School Spelling Bee this year. On January 24, 10 Spelling Bee competitors spelled through 27 rounds, including words like "preternaturally," "caparisoned," and "Arcturus." Norah Yang (7th grader) came in 5th place, Jameson Smith (7th grader) and Tallulah Dolan (7th grader) tied for 3rd. Bo Trainer-Craven (6th grader) came in 2nd, and Sonali Koo (6th grader) was the DSMS Champion. Sonali is a two-time School Bee champion, having won the Chickering Bee when she was in 4th grade.
Each of the 79 local school champions took an online qualifying exam, testing students' knowledge on spelling and word meanings. Both Akshay and Sonali scored amongst the top 33 students and will now participate in the Regional Spelling Bee at Lynn City Hall Memorial Auditorium at 5pm on March 21. The champion of the Regional Bee will win an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C. for the winner and a parent to take part in Bee Week activities and the 2023 Scripps National Spelling Bee.
The Chickering and DSMS Spelling Bee Programs thank the parent volunteers, school staff, and Dover and Sherborn librarians who officiated the Bees.
