Two Students Share First Place Win in Intermediate School Spelling Bee

Spelling Bee WInners Abdulla Adil and Henry Nguyen

Abdullah Adil, an eighth grader from Jordan Intermediate School and  Henry Nguyen, an eighth grader from Irvine Intermediate School, tied for first place to share the title of champion of the district’s 36th Annual Spelling Bee for seventh and eighth grade students.  The highly-competitive event among the district’s top 40 seventh and eighth grade spellers was held January 31 at the Edgar District Meeting Center.

“I am always impressed by the immense dedication of our students and the steep level of competition displayed at the Intermediate School Spelling Bee,” said Board of Education President Teri Rocco. “It’s clear that these students invested many hours into studying and preparing to develop their superior spelling skills and they should be very proud of their remarkable accomplishment.” 

The final word that was spelled correctly by the first place champions was neoterism and the final word of the bee was becquerel.

The district champions and the eight runners-up will represent the district at the Orange County Spelling Competition on February 26. The remaining top ten spellers include: Camy Nguyen, Alamitos Intermediate, third place; Dason Luu, Walton Intermediate, fourth place; Lincy Dang, McGarvin Intermediate, fifth place; Stella Ho, Ralston Intermediate, sixth place; Amelia Maczynski, Bell Intermediate, seventh place; Levi Le, Lake Intermediate, eighth place; Jessica Lee, Bell Intermediate, ninth place; and Truc Tina Ho, Doig Intermediate, tenth place.

Each of the district’s 10 intermediate schools entered its four best spellers in the district competition. 

School Board President Teri Rocco, Vice President Lan Nguyen and Director of 7-12 Instruction Sandra Valencia presented trophies to the top 10 spellers, and all contest entrants received certificates of participation. GGUSD Superintendent Dr. Gabriela Mafi, Assistant Superintendent of Secondary Education Dr. Stephanie Heflin, and Assistant Superintendent of K-12 Educational Services Dr. Lorena Sanchez also attended the bee to cheer on the district’s top intermediate school spellers.