Garrett spelled her way to championship
By Shirley Shuman
Over 40 elementary and middle school spelling bee winners in their respective grades gathered at Day’s Inn to compete in the annual Braxton County Schools Spelling Bee Thursday evening. The students first had a spell-down for each grade level with the top two moving to the championship round. Kim Dennison, Braxton County Director of Federal Programs, Elementary Education, and Professional Development organized the Spelling Bee and served as Master of Ceremonies. Retired educator Denver Drake was the pronouncer, and Donna Coombs, Lisa Ratliff, Joyce Floyd, and Linda Sears served as judges.
Results of the grade-level school winners’ spelldown and the winning words are listed below:
4th grade: Winner: Holly Dennison of Flatwoods Elementary. Runner -up was Aubrie Daigle. Winning word: bootleg in 14 rounds.
5th grade: Winner was Sadie Mace – Burnsville Elementary. Runner-up was Adeline Lowther of Sutton Elementary. Winning word: voracious in 7 rounds.
6th grade: Winner: Brooklyn Hays of Braxton County Middle School. The Runner up was Dane Hopen a Sutton Elementary student. Winning word: gastritis in 10 rounds.
7th grade: Winner: Kolton Cook of Braxton County Middle School. Runner up was Claire Duckworth. Winning word: inseparable in 5 rounds.
8th grade: Winner: Natalie Garrett a student at Braxton County Middle School. The winning word was photosynthesis.
Following the grade-level spell-downs, the Spelling Bee involving those champions and runners-up began. The championship Bee ran 11 rounds. Eighth-grader Natalie Garrett won first place, and Kolton Cook finished second. Holly Dennison, fourth grade champion from Burnsville, is the alternate. Garrett and Cook will compete in the Daily Mail Spelling Bee, which is online.
Master of Ceremonies and planner Dennison expressed her pleasure at the smoothness of Thursday night’s event, and she was also pleased at the number of individuals who came to watch the Spelling Bee. Dennison mentioned that it was gratifying to see the county superintendent and four BOE members there, too. “We appreciate the support we receive from them,” she said.
Dennison also noted that Dr. Ethan Backus and BCHS engineering students made the prizes the winning students received.
See additional photographic coverage on Page 9 of this issue.
