The Indiana Academic Spell Bowl-Junior Division Area Contest was held Wednesday, November 6 at Washington Township Middle-High School. Middle Schools from Ben Franklin (Class 1-49 correct out of 72), Fegely (Class 2-37 out of 72), Boone Grove (Class 3-24 correct out of 72) and Washington Township (Class 4-35 correct out of 72) each won the Area Spell Bowl titles in their respective classes. Unlike the traditional oral spelling contest, teams use one representative per round (8 rounds total) to correctly spell the contest words. Winning teams are named based on the cumulative total of correctly spelled words of all members. Ben Franklin, Fegely and Washington Township Middle School Spell Bowl teams qualified for the State Competition to be held at Purdue University on Saturday, November 16th. 31 schools will be competing in all four enrollment classes. Middle Schools participating at the Washington Township Area Spell Bowl included: Ben Franklin MS, Kankakee Valley MS (Class 1), Fegely MS, Thomas Jefferson MS (Class 2), Boone Grove MS, Union Township MS, Winamac Community (Class 3), Hebron MS, Morgan Township MS, North Judson-San Pierre MS, St. Peter Lutheran (North Judson) MS, Washington Township MS (Class 4).
Perfect Spelling:
Isaias Richie–St. Peter Lutheran (North Judson) Middle School
Joaquin Martinez–Union Township Middle School
Carson Smith–Fegely Middle School
Near Perfect Spelling:
Immy Trusell-Smith–Morgan Township Middle School
Olivia Martinez–Fegely Middle School
Jayden Duits–Fegely Middle School
Lucas Petre–Washington Township Middle School