Fifth grader Ade Akinlaja correctly spelled a series of tricky words to win the Bright School Spelling Bee. The top three finishers advance to the Zone Bee this winter.
Ade spelled the word "masa," a dough used to make corn tortillas, to win the bee. Second place was fifth grader Nayana Vardhana, and third place was fourth grader Leighton Miller.
The bee went 12 rounds with Ade spelling the last word by himself, which meant he correctly spelled 13 words, including lurid, batten, pomade, and emigrate. There were 32 fourth and fifth graders who bravely competed.
The words started out fairly easy with examples like hint, cups and party, but the words became harder and more advanced quickly. The final rounds included words like reenactment, configuration, inaudible, and deign.
Mrs. Watts said the word for each speller, and the judges were Mrs. Reasor, Mrs. Kropff, and Ms. Pesterfield.
