Top honors go to 2nd grader Leila Alobeidy for winning the ACS spelling bee held today on stage in the gym. With fellow students, teachers, and proud parents in the audience, Event Coordinator Jessica Martin got the bee underway among the 10 students in grades 1-8 who had advanced to the school-wide bee by winning classroom spelling bees. The bee went 27 rounds before Leila correctly spelled “exasperation” and then clinched the victory by correctly spelling the 158th word in the competition — “reprobate.” Fourth grader Amelia D’Anna placed second and tied for third were 3rd grader Nathanael Thompson and 4th grader Gabriella Goodwin. Due to regional spelling bee regulations which require all participants to be in at least 4th grade, runner-up Amelia D’Anna will go on to represent ACS at the South Jersey Regional Spelling Bee on March 10 at Folsom Elementary School.
Pictured above, from left, are: Leila Alobeidy, Amelia D’Anna, Gabriella Goodwin, and Nathanael Thompson. The other students who competed in the spelling bee were: Adam Alobeidy (1st grade), Matthew Coates (2nd grade), Kalee Tardif (3rd grade), Christy Park (5th grade), Ryleigh Martin (6th grade), Daniella Ajayi (7th grade), and Faith Gracia (8th grade).