William Yates stood tall last Monday night and confidently spelled the word c-o-l-l-a-b-o-r-a-t-e to take home the third annual School District Spelling Bee title at Robert Frost Auditorium.
A fifth-grader at El Marino Language School, young Yates finished atop 23 other spellers — four students from each of the District's five elementary schools and the Middle School competed.
William took home a first-place trophy and a $250 savings bond courtesy of Westfield Fox Hills, which sponsored the event.
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William Yates
All of the top three spellers are fifth-graders.
Westfield presented a trophy and a $150 savings bond to second-place finisher Timothy Martin, a fifth- grader at Lin Howe School.
Finally, a trophy and a $100 savings bond was won by third-place finisher Jordan Henderson, a fifth-grader at La Ballona School.
In addition, each participant received a certificate of commendation signed by the Supt. Dr. Myrna Rivera Cote congratulating them on reaching the Spelling Bee finals.
The Spelling Bee will be broadcast twice on Channel 35, twice in the coming weeks, on Friday night at 6, and on Friday, March 14, at 6.
The finalists included:
Nifemi Okuboyejo, Grade 6; Kennedy Green, Grade 6; Kiana Van Vlack, Grade 6; and Azucena Cruz, Grade 6, from the Middle School; Yates, Grade 5; Caitlin Waters, Grade 5; Price Campbell, Grade 5; and Lindsey Tanita, Grade 5, from El Marino; Fred Wadibia, Grade 5; Makayla Ogudo, Grade 5; Meklit Iyob-Tessema, Grade 4; and Deion Turner, Grade 4, from El Rincon; Kristian Cisneros, Grade 4; Sean Lee, Grade 5; Thet Naing, Grade 5; and Madison Ono, Grade 5, from Farragut; Henderson, Grade 5; Chad Altobelli, Grade 5; Tahmid Khan, Grade 4; and Tatiana Longsworth, Grade 4, from La Ballona; Martin, Grade 5; Karina Baker, Grade 5; Jasmin Flores, Grade 5; and Jan Richard Rodriguez, Grade 5, from Lin Howe.
