Throughout November and December, all Springs sites and programs are invited to participate in Springs’ Regional Preliminary Spelling Bees. Winners from each program or academy earn the opportunity to advance to the All-School Spelling Bee in January—a showdown where the strongest Springs spellers compete for a chance to move on to their local county competition.
From there, students may continue their journey all the way to the National Spelling Bee, where the ultimate prize includes national recognition and a $50,000 award. Springs students have come close to reaching Nationals in recent years, said Nikkole McAdoo, events and community engagement coordinator, “and we’re hopeful that this is the year one of our talented spellers makes it all the way.”
Springs’ first and second place winners in November’s competition include: Bear River Student Center, Rogie Agpal and Tabitha Nanci, Otay Ranch Academy for the Arts (Homeschool), Jahaziel Rodriguez and Giselle Corral, Riverside Pathfinder (Homeschool), Paisley Husain and (3-way tie): Meiko Shamhart, BellaRose Johnson, and Konor Pupp, Rancho Cucamonga Academy, Sebastian Cortez and Gisselle Johnson, Rancho Cucamonga Homeschool, Chelsea Avendaño and (tie): Kaelyn Lutz & Genesis Chavez, Santa Ana Homeschool, Dominic Farao and Maeve MacDonald, Temecula Homeschool, Arabelle Sheehan and Ethan Elias-Sotelo.
