Simon Johnson stood tall and confidently spelled the word p-i-z-z-z-e-r-i-a to take home the sixth annual Culver City Unified School District Spelling Bee championship on Monday evening at the Robert Frost Auditorium.
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Interim Supt. Patti Jaffe and School Board member Karlo Silbiger flank the cream of the spellers. From left, first-place winner Simon Johnson, second-place Matthew Chen, third-place Faheem Chunara
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Repeat winner Simon Johnson claps for his fellow spellers (Photos by Geoff Maleman)
The sixth-grader from Culver City Middle School became the District’s first repeat Spelling Bee winner.
Simon finished atop 23 other spellers — four students from each of the District’s five elementary schools and the Middle School competed.
“I can’t win three in a row,” said Simon, who will be in the seventh grade next year and ineligible. “That’s too bad because I was on a roll.”
After winning last year’s Spelling Bee by correctly spelling “d-e-h-y-d-r-a-t-i-o-n,” Simon said he has been practicing a lot. You get to a point with skill and then, at some point, you have to study. I’ve been studying a lot.”
Simon took home a first-place trophy and a $250 savings bond from Westfield Culver City, sponsor of the event.
He will advance to the Los Angeles County Spelling Bee, on Wednesday, March 23, at 4 o’clock at Almansor Court, 700 S. Almansor St., Alhambra. The winner of that competition will qualify for the statewide spelling bee in Sonoma in May.
Westfield also presented a trophy and a $150 savings bond to second-place finisher Matthew Chen; and a trophy and a $100 savings bond to third-place finisher Faheem Chunara, all from the Middle School. This marked the first time in the history of the Culver City Spelling Bee that one school swept all three top spots.
Nicholas Green of Farragut Elementary School finished fourth and was the top elementary school finisher.
In addition, each participant received a certificate of commendation signed by the District’s superintendent congratulating him or her on reaching the Spelling Bee finals.
The Spelling Bee will be broadcast on Channel 35.
The Spelling Bee finalists: Middle School:
Simon Johnson, Matthew Chen, Faheem Chunara and Harman Khinda; Lin Howe Elementary: Tyeler Grant Brown, Jesse Castillo, Carolina Mandujano and Aidan Merrell; El Marino Language School: Nolan Lee, Isabel Musselman, Collin Nascimento and Pavan Tauh; El Rincon Elementary: Dylan Atianzar, Grace Gay, Jarius Montgomery; Farragut Elementary: Nicholas Federizo Jimenez, Nicholas Green, Samuel Lee, and Soliana Samson; and La Ballona Elementary: Mouhamad Alrayes, Sergio Muñoz, Maryam Nawaz and Nida Patel.
