8th grader Evan Pearson represented ACS well at the South Jersey Regionals Scripps Spelling Bee on Saturday, March 16 held at the Petway Elementary School in Vineland, finishing in the top 10 out of 36 students. “We’re very proud of Evan’s success overall and he achieved the highest placement to date of an ACS student in the regional bee,” said Chief School Administrator Karen Oblen. “Our elementary and middle school teachers will continue to work with our students to help them excel in their vocabulary and spelling skills, which will lead to continued success in future Bees.”
Evan advanced through two hours of competition against students representing public and private schools in Atlantic, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester, and Salem Counties. In addition to spelling, Evan said the competition included an unexpected two rounds of a vocabulary challenge, where students were asked to define rather than spell various words. Evan advanced through those rounds, but eventually went out misspelling the word “juggernaut,” a word that he said he knows how to spell, but with the pressure mounting unintentionally transposed a “j” and a “g .”
Oblen said ACS is also proud of former ACS student Hannah Campbell, who attended ACS from the 1st-5th grades, and took first place in the regional bee. She will be competing in the Scripps National Spelling Bee on May 11 in Washington, DC.