The 45th annual County Spelling Bee was held on Thursday, March 23 and included 27 4th-8th grade students from Riverside County charter schools, private schools, and school districts - all competing for a spot in the Annual Scripps National Spelling Bee in Maryland from May 28-June 2, 2023.
Representing Hemet Unified was Aslan Arambula, 5th grade student from Harmony Elementary School, who advanced from the school-level competition, to the district-level competition; and finally on to the county-level competition.
Students study the correct spelling of words from study lists provided by Scripps. Then, they participate in “round” competitions in which contestants are eliminated as they misspell a word. The competition helps students improve their spelling, increase their vocabularies, learn concepts, and develop English usage.
Aslan’s Principal, Dr. Teresa McFarland shared, “Aslan is a self-determined student who is intrinsically motivated to reach high levels of success. It is no surprise that his diligent preparation, extreme focus, and enthusiasm for the HUSD Spelling Bee landed him at the Riverside County Bee. Our entire school is very proud of Aslan’s dedication and accomplishments.”
Avijeet Randhawa from Corona-Norco Unified took 1st place in the Spelling Bee and will move on to the National Scripps Spelling Competition. Victoria Michael-Taiwo from Lake Elsinore Unified took 2nd place and in 3rd place was Profess Adhikari from River Springs Charter school. All in all, it was a wonderful experience for all involved!