Salinas, Calif. –
Sunday March 4, 2018, 1:30 p.m.
Hartnell College, Western Stage Theater, 411 Central Avenue, Salinas, CA 93901
Turn off your autocorrect, pull out the dictionary, and prepare for an intense afternoon of spelling this Sunday! The Countywide Spelling Bee, sponsored by the Monterey County Office of Education and community partners, will begin at 1:30 p.m. at Hartnell College.
Sixty-one students – all winners of spelling bees at their individual schools – are scheduled to compete. These students, the best middle school spellers in the county, will gather for an afternoon of competitive spelling, attempting to spell their way to the grand prize of a trip to National Harbor, Maryland, to compete in the Scripps National Spelling Bee, May 27 – June 1, 2018.
The National Spelling Bee is the nation’s largest and longest-running educational promotion, and is administered on a not-for-profit basis by the E.W. Scripps Company and local spelling bee sponsors in the United States, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Department of Defense Schools in Europe; also, the Bahamas, Canada, Ghana, Jamaica, Japan and South Korea. The purpose is to help students improve their spelling, increase their vocabularies, learn concepts and develop correct English language usage that will help them all their lives.
Sunday’s Countywide Spelling Bee is admission-free and the public is invited to attend. Free parking is available on the Hartnell campus.
Participating spellers are:
Krystal Acosta, 6th grader at El Gabilan Elementary School
Mary Alvarez, 6th grader at Loma Vista Elementary School
Colton Amaral, 8th grader at Palma School
Katherine Amaro, 6th grader at Frank Ledesma Elementary School
Marilyn Amaro, 7th grader at North Monterey County Middle School
Aria Asmuth, 7th grader at Dual Language Academy of the Monterey Peninsula
Hannah Barrera, 6th grader of Jack Franscioni Elementary School
Alyssa Bathke, 7th grader at Gavilan View Middle School
James Beck, 8th grader at Anthem Christian School
Brandon Beltran, 6th grader at Prunedale Elementary School
Diego Calderon, 6th grader at Virginia Rocca Barton Elementary School
Audrey Cardoso, 6th grader at Jesse G. Sanchez Elementary School
Anna Chassion, 8th grader at Buena Vista Middle School
Melissa Chaverrine, 6th grader at Cesar Chavez Elementary School
Abraham Chavez, 6th grader at Natividad Elementary School
Ricardo Chavez Corona, 6th grader at Echo Valley Elementary School
Steven Chen, 6th grader at Henry Kammann Elementary School
Daniel Cheng, 8th grader at Pacific Grove Middle School
Casey Cortez, 8th grader at Carmel Middle School
Dominic Criscitiello, 8th grader at York School
Nicole Dickman, 7th grader at Madonna del Sasso School
Michael Edwards, 7th grader at San Benancio Middle School
Denisse Emeterio, 8th grader at Harden Middle School
Maria Flores, 6th grader at Frank Paul Elementary School
Alondra Gallegos, 6th grader at Sherwood Elementary School
Lucia Garcia, 7th grader at Chalone Peaks Middle School
Mauricio Garcia Davalos, 6th grader at Castroville Elementary
Valeria Garcia Lopez, 6th grader at Boronda Meadows Elementary School
Yaretzy Godinez-Ortiz, 6th grader at Laurel Wood Elementary School
Claire Gonzales, 6th grader at Monterey Park Elementary School
Edson Gonzales, 6th grader at Alisal Community School
Dylan Gowdy, 6th grader at All Saints’ Episcopal Day School
Paul Hamrick, 8th grader at Lambert Hamrick Homeschool
Lexiss Herrera, 6th grader at Elkhorn Elementary School
Loretta Ibarra, 8th grader at San Ardo School
Jose Juarez, 6th grader at Roosevelt Elementary School
Taylor King, 6th grader at San Lucas School
Jake Larson, 8th grader at Junipero Serra School
Nico Lewis, 7th grader at Monterey County Home Charter School
Samuel Low, 7th grader at Washington Middle School
Kayla Marin, 8th grader at La Paz Middle School
Julian Mendoza, 6th grader at Mission Park Elementary School
Consuelo Merino, 6th grader at San Vincente Elementary School
Aryan Nahal, 8th grader at Bolsa Knolls Middle School
Kimberly Navarro, 6th grader at Bardin Elementary School
Gracie Nelson, 8th grader at San Antonio Elementary School
Katie Noble, 6th grader at Santa Catalina Middle School
Edgar Plancarte, 7th grader at El Sausal Middle School
Joaquin Ramirez, 6th grader at Rose Ferrero Elementary School
Kiana Michelle Randolph, 6th grader at Lincoln Elementary School
Nancy Rodriguez, 6th grader at Gabilan Elementary School
Shane Rollin, 6th grader at Vista Verde Middle School
Aundrea Romero, 6th grader at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Academy
Luis Ruiz, 6th grader at Seaside Middle School
Megan Sacyat, 8th grader at Main Street Middle School
Samantha Santos, 6th grader at Monte Bella Elementary School
Sierra Short, 8th grader at Lagunita School
Rubina Shrestha, 8th grader at San Carlos School
Maxim (Max) Stefanioutine, 6th grader at Los Arboles Middle School
Gabino Valladares, 6th grader at Creekside Elementary School
Geovanni Velazquez-Reyes, 6th grader at John E. Steinbeck Elementary School
