Fourteen Porter and Lake County students from grades 3rd-8th took to the Wheeler High School auditorium stage on February 21, competing for the title of Lake/Porter County District Spelling Bee champion. This competition was sponsored by Kankakee Valley REMC and was the first of two spelling bees feeding into the Scripps National Spelling Bee program.
After twenty-five rounds of competition, 6th grader Advik Lalam, from Wilbur Wright Middle School spelled his word correct to win the bee. Nachiket Magesh, an 8th grader at Highland Middle School took second place followed by Elise Hibbard, an 8th grader from Highland Middle School, taking third place.
Students were introduced to words like eviscerated, attenuated and offal during the competition. Prior to spelling the word, students could ask the pronouncer questions like word origin, part of speech, definition and for it to be used in a sentence.
The top 10 students from the Lake/Porter County Spelling Bee will now advance to the Kankakee Valley REMC Regional Spelling Bee, on March 14, at Wheeler High School auditorium in Valparaiso. This competition will feature the top ten finishers from the LaPorte County District Spelling Bee and the Lake/Porter County District Spelling Bee. The students advancing on from the Lake/Porter County District Spelling Bee include:
- Advik Lalam-Wilbur Wright Middle School
- Nachiket Magesh-Michael Grimmer Middle School
- Elise Hibbard-Highland Middle School
- Patrick Rall-Immanuel Lutheran School
- Andrej Jakovljevic-Forest Ridge Academy
- Brayden Shea-Trinity Lutheran School
- Brynne Noordermeer-Crown Point Christian School
- Noah Hahn-Montessori Childrens Schoolhouse
- Moriah Colar-Highland Christian School
- Matthew Haubold-Chesterton Middle School
The winner of the Kankakee Valley Regional Spelling Bee in March will advance to the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C. in late May.
“With a strong commitment to providing opportunities for youth to excel academically, Kankakee Valley REMC is pleased to be the local sponsor of the Scripps National Spelling Bee,” stated Director of Marketing & Communications, Amanda Steeb. She goes on to say, “The Lake/Porter County District Spelling Bee showcased the talents of the best and brightest spellers. The words were tough, but they showed their hard-work and dedication to the art of spelling.”
Kankakee Valley REMC is an electric cooperative serving over 18,000 members throughout portions of Lake, Porter, Starke, St. Joseph, Pulaski, Marshall and LaPorte County.