Spelling Bee Champ, Jacob Sevilla

On Tuesday, February 4^th, the Unalaska City School held its championship Spelling Bee. The winners of the individual 3^rd through 8^th grade classroom spelling bees advanced to the championship bee for a chance to go to Anchorage for the Alaska State Spelling Bee. The 12 qualifiers were: Jacob Sevilla and Renna Bucaneg from 3^rd grade, Ellizel Usi and Vy Huynh from 4^th grade, Torence Lee and Bruce Tan from 5^th grade, Sean Conwell and Halle Savage from 6^th grade, Kiara Villamor and Trevor Wilson from 7^th grade, and John Vuong and C.J. Trinidad from 8^th grade. 

The Spelling Bee was held on Tuesday afternoon in the high school gym, with judges D. Tyrell McGirt, Dan Masoni, and Sonia Streitmatter, students and teachers from 3^rd through 8^th grades, school administrators, parents, and community members all looking on. Third grade teacher Sharon O’Malley pronounced the words aloud and the 12 student participants began spelling away. Several rounds of difficult words passed before the first word was misspelled. After many more rounds, and only a few more misspelled words, Jacob Sevilla, of Ms. O’Malley’s third grade class proved victorious. Jacob’s winning word was e-x-t-i-n-g-u-i-s-h.

This competition was an incredible show of impeccable spelling, a caliber of which exceeds the ability, knowledge, and expectations of many. The 12 spellers, along with all those who participated throughout the Unalaska City School District, did a great job representing their families, our school, and our community. The event served to emphasize how education is prioritized in our community. Thank you to all who helped, congratulations to all of the spellers, and most of all, great job Jacob!