Boyd-Buchanan Elementary and Middle School students, grades five through eight, participated in the first level of the 2013 Scripps National Spelling Bee on Thursday. Before an audience of peers, families, teachers and judges, ten fifth grade students and 35 middle school students were challenged with a plethora of words by Event Coordinator, Emile Salisbury.
After many tension-filled rounds of pronunciation, definition and language of origin cues, fifth-grader Connor Young emerged as Boyd Buchanan's top speller. Connor won first place overall, triumphing over middle school students, by correctly spelling "herbaceous."
Connor said, “I was so happy when she said my word was 'herbaceous' because I knew I could spell it!”
Second place went to seventh-grader Elizabeth Hall, and fifth-grader Nick Klaehn claimed third. Joseph DeLay (seventh grade), Bryson Myrell (seventh grade) and Ethan Liang (fifth grade) placed in the top six.
Each of the top six talented participants will now move on to the Zone Spelling Bee for private schools which will be conducted by Baylor School on Feb. 12.
Four winners from this Zone Spelling Bee will compete in the Regional Championship on March 16, at The University of Tennessee- Chattanooga Hayes Fine Arts Center. The regional champion will represent the area at the 2013 Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C.