Four students are headed for State Spelling Bee competitions after successfully spelling their way through the 36th Annual Humboldt County Spelling Bee held Friday, March 1, at the Humboldt County Office of Education’s Sequoia Conference Center.

The countywide competition drew an audience of 80 supporters who watched intently as 20 regional champions—10 at the elementary school level (4th – 6th grades) and 10 at the junior high school level (7th – 9th grades) —carefully responded to words posed from guest judges like Cat in the Hat and the Bee’s Spelling Master, Stacy Young. “We really put our students to the test,” stated Young. “…but they shone with poise and grace under pressure.”

The students represented the top spellers in the county, as they qualified for this event by winning school and regional spelling bees held earlier this year.
In the elementary division, students compete orally and are eliminated with their first misspelled word. This year, students spelled well over a hundred words including “pneumonia” and “hypocrisy”. Aurora Pitts, a 6th grader from Alder Grove Charter School, and Jackson Dehority, a 6th grader from Jacoby Creek School triumphed the elementary division.

Junior high students compete in a written contest based on a 4-word miss. After spelling 35 words, including “pterodactyl” and “valedictory”, Abigail Wagner, an 8th grader at Alder Grove Charter School, and Milana Chigris, a 7th grader at Sunny Brae Middle School, were named winners.

The four champions will now compete in the State Competitions. Pitts and Dehority will compete May 11 in Stockton, and Wagner and Chigris will compete May 4 in San Rafael. The Humboldt County Office of Education, with the support of local schools, sponsors the Humboldt County Spelling Bee.