San Andreas, CA…The 48th Annual Calaveras County Spelling Bee pitted the county’s top spellers against each other on Thursday, April 14th at the Calaveras River Academy/Mountain Oaks gymnasium. Assistant Superintendent Scott Nanik, the spelling moderator of the event, read words from the Marin County Junior High Spelling Word List. The students wrote the words down, and proctors checked the students’ efforts to spell them correctly. Each student was allowed to misspell three words before being disqualified.

The audience applauded as each winner in each grade level was announced. The final word, “calcify,” revealed Bret Harte ninth grader Kaiya Hall as this year’s overall winner. She and fellow Bret Harte ninth grader Genevieve Payne were the top two spellers and will be moving on to compete in the California State Junior High Spelling Bee Championship held Saturday, May 14, 2016 in San Rafael, CA.

Thirty-four students competed from the following schools:

· Avery Middle School

· Bret Harte High School

· Christian Family Learning Center

· Jenny Lind Elementary

· Mark Twain Elementary

· Mokelumne Hill Elementary

· San Andreas Elementary

· Toyon Middle School

· Valley Springs Elementary

Following are all the winners from this year’s countywide Spelling Bee:

· 6th Grade WINNERS – 1st Place: Avery Strauch, Mark Twain Elementary

· 6th Grade WINNERS – 2nd Place: Ryder Wittman, Christian Family Learning Center

· 6th Grade WINNERS – 3rd Place: Krishna Lian Tuazon, San Andreas Elementary

· 7th Grade WINNERS – 1st Place: Jackson Oliver, Avery Middle School

· 7th Grade WINNERS – 2nd Place: Hannah Casillas, Mark Twain Elementary

· 7th Grade WINNERS – 3rd Place: Kailynn Saylor, Avery Middle School

· 8th Grade WINNERS – 1st Place: Summer Cummings, Toyon Middle School

· 8th Grade WINNERS – 2nd Place: Andrew Hutt, Toyon Middle School

· 8th Grade WINNERS – 3rd Place: Kinlye Apley, Christian Family Learning Center

· 9th Grade WINNERS – 1st Place: Kaiya Hall, Bret Harte High School

· 9th Grade WINNERS – 2st Place: Genevieve Payne, Bret Harte High School

· 9th Grade WINNERS – 3rd Place: Gurlovellen Kaur, Bret Harte High School

· TOP TWO WINNERS GOING ON TO STATE CHAMPIONSHIP: Kaiya Hall and Genevieve Payne, both from Bret Harte High School

Calaveras County Office of Education congratulates the winners, as well as all the students who attended the event.

For further information, please contact Lauren Robinson at the Calaveras County Office of Education, (209) 736-6094.

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