Laura Young
ECB Publishing, Inc.
With the winning word “bovines,” seventh grade student Mae McNeill became this year's Jefferson County Spelling Bee champion! Second place went to sixth grade student Preston Cooksey, and third place went to eighth grade student Will Borders. The Jefferson County Spelling Bee was hosted by Aucilla Christian Academy (ACA) on Jan. 26 and included 13 competitors.
Grade-level winners from ACA who qualified for the county bee included:
Fourth Grade: Allison Andrews, Reign Knight, Charlotte Walker
Fifth Grade: Luke Grant, Melanie Metty, Lexie Turner
Sixth Grade: Preston Cooksey, Izzy Carpenter, Sophie Ashworth
Seventh Grade: River Sasser, Mae McNeill, Thomas Fulford
Eighth Grade: Cadie Agner, J.R. Watson, Will Borders
It is noted that Jefferson County K-12 (JCS) did not participate in this year's county-wide spelling bee. JCS has issued the following statement regarding their school's bee: “Due to the demands of the reopening of Jefferson County Schools K-12 and the DOE oversight that accompanies year one, Jefferson K-12 will hold its
annual spelling bee in February. We recognize that it excludes our participation in the county spelling bee, but not from the experience itself.”
At the Jefferson County Spelling Bee on Jan. 26, 13 students in grades four through eight took to the stage. The pronouncer was Debbie Stephens; judges were Amanda Sapp and John Stephens. The first round of the bee began with the word “ears,” and by round 15 only three spellers remained. These top spellers took turns at the microphone for five more rounds before the champion was determined. Per spelling bee rules, the last speller standing must correctly spell one more word in a final round. So it was that after 21 rounds, Mae McNeill correctly spelled the winning word “bovines” and was pronounced the champion.
Congratulations to all participating students for showing impressive spelling prowess and representing their grade level and school well!
Jefferson County's spelling bee is part of the 2023 Scripps National Spelling Bee, and our champion, Mae McNeill, will advance next to the regional spelling bee. Our regional spelling bee is sponsored by Envision Credit Union in Tallahassee and will be held on Feb. 25, 2023.
Regional spelling bee winners advance to the national competition. The National Spelling Bee began in 1925 when nine newspapers joined together to host a spelling bee. More than 90 years later, this literacy effort reaches 11 million students each year.
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