STEM STUDENT NAMED DISTRICT SPELLING BEE CHAMP
Betts said she spent hours practicing her vocabulary words before the big competition .
The word ‘ Cornucopia ’ is one Lauren
Betts will likely never forget . That ’ s the word that made the sixth grader from Jerry Knight STEM Academy a district spelling bee champion .
Betts avoided being eliminated after several rounds in the competition , which was held Feb . 7 at the Dr . Jim Vaszauskas Center for the Performing Arts . She competed against 37 other elementary , intermediate and middle school winners to earn the title .
The runner-up was Debra- Jul Akanmu from Danny Jones Middle School .
The words used in the contest are provided by Scripps , and the students have an opportunity to study them .
“ I actually went through a lot of preparation ,” said the 11-year-old winner . “ There would be times where I ’ d just have my list on my computer , and I ’ d ask my friends to just pick a random word and spell it for them , and they ’ d just be completely blown away .”
Walls said she is so proud of Betts and all the students who made it this far in their spelling journey .
“ This is not an easy road . You have to really practice ,” Walls noted . “ We know that letting them stand out for things that they ’ ve learned is very important .”
Betts went on to compete at the regional spelling bee competition at Texas Christian University in March . Although she did not advance to the national competition in Washington , D . C ., she said the experience was still one to remember .
District Contestants
• Oshoke Omoye - Ponder Elementary
• Cara Camacho - Martinez Intermediate
• Jayadheep Jayaprasanna - Daulton Elementary
• Jaymis Lewis - Perry Elementary
• Dejanira Castillo - Low Intermediate
• Ayan Baig - Norwood Elementary
• Lauren Betts - STEM Academy / Wester Middle
• Leyah Widemon - Holt Elementary
• Elizabeth Adelusi - McKinzey Middle
• Olamide Fabunmi - Anderson Prep Academy
• Chloe Ngankeu - Spencer Elementary
• Alexander Gunn - Cross Timbers Intermediate
• Irfan Bhatti - Morris Elementary
• Debra-Jul Akanmu - Jones Middle
• Louisa Duku - Icenhower Intermediate
• Elina Ung - Shepard Academy
• Jui Bhandari - Smith Academy
• Filicitee Vanhook - Nash Elementary
• Baneen Altoky - Harmon Elementary
• Alonzo Ortiz - Gideon Elementary
• Audrey Ray - Boren Elementary
• Jackson McCuin - Coble Middle
• Demmy Adenekan - Brockett Elementary
• Marcus Brimon - Miller Elementary
• Miracle Awujo - Davis Elementary
• John David Johnson - Jobe Middle
• Noah Wood - Cabaniss Academy
• Jasmine Pereira - Reid Academy
• Conan Kusick - Sheppard Elementary
• Zahra Salman - Lillard Intermediate
• Kason Krodle - Orr Intermediate
• Avery Barron - Neal Elementary
• Biruk Zelalem - Tipps Elementary
• Naveed Ahmed - Worley Middle
• Sawyer Shippen - Howard Middle
• Canon Anderson - Tarver-Rendon Academy
• Austin Arciba - Jones Elementary
• Karis Garcia - Brown Academy
“ This spelling competition actually begins at a campus level ,” said Nikki Walls , instructional coordinator at Mansfield ISD . “ Every campus holds a spelling bee at their campus around the December time frame , and those winners are then selected to be part of the district spelling bee .”
The district bee is an annual tradition that is sponsored by the Mansfield Sunrise Rotary . Betts came in first place .
Each campus winner was on the stage in hopes of winning the district title .
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