After five rounds, Carlsbad student Grant Cannon won the Carlsbad Spelling Bee Dec. 6.
Cannon took the win after a spell-off with fellow student Ailyah Harper.
Cannon will participate in the regional spelling bee March 4, 2022 in El Paso, Texas.
Jessica Arenivas, Carlsbad Municipal School’s secondary specialist for English Language Arts kicked off the bee at PR Leyva Auditorium.
Judges for the evening were Director of Principal Leadership and Supervision Andrea Edmunson, Secretary to the Director of Curriculum and Instruction Felina Rascon and Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction Allison Hervol.
The record keeper was Raymond Lopez, an English Language Arts teacher from Alta Vista Middle School.
Director of Curriculum and Instruction Jennifer Timme pointed spellers in the correct direction as they navigated their way back to their seats after nervously spelling in front of an audience.
Superintendent of Carlsbad Schools Dr. Gerry Washburn wished the spellers “g-o-o-d-l-u-c-k.” His speech drew chuckles from the audience.
P.E.R. Secretary of the Carlsbad Elks Lodge Kent Hitchens served as the pronouncer and emcee for the night’s competition. Hitchens advised students of the rules and instructed them on microphone usage during the bee.
Seven schools participated in the night’s event. The participants representing each school earned the right to participate in the spelling bee as they were declared the winner or runner up of their respective classroom and school-wide spelling bees.
Participants from Ocotillo were Regina Reyes Lara and Axel Rodriguez. Desert Willow students were Jimena Gamboa and Roman Hernandez. Monterrey’s two participants were Charles Thompson and Matthew Meek. Cottonwood had Samara Gonzales and Aliyah Sandate. Sunset students were Maddison Aguilar and Eliana Britton. Alta Vista participants included Aaliyah Harper and Guillermo Valdez. PR Leyva was represented by Grant Cannon and Olivia Jang.
