On Thursday, March 16th, 53 elementary school students from around the Tri-Community came together to compete in the Snowline Joint Unified School District Spelling Bee Competition. The competition took place at Baldy Mesa Elementary School in Phelan, where ten students from each of the six elementary schools in the district were invited to compete. The ten student representatives were top spellers in their respective schools, beating out all others in their class.

Using the Scripps National Spelling Bee Rules, students were given a word along with the definition and a sentence using the word. The arduous spelling lasted well over two hours and led to several rounds where word selections gradually increased from 5-letter to 11-letter words. The final round included a spell-off between two Heritage School students where the ultimate winner, Samuel Murray, won by correctly spelling “Neonatology.” Second place was awarded to Heritage student Samantha Ward. Third place ended in a tie between Julianna Acuna from Phelan Elementary and Isac Alvarez from Heritage School due to time constraints.

This is the first year Heritage School has competed in the Snowline School District Spelling Bee Competition. The winning school received a trophy to display on their campus and bragging rights for the next year. Heritage Principal Mrs. Arbizu proudly accepted the school trophy alongside her winning students. Individual trophies were also awarded to the First, Second, and Third place winners, and every student who completed at the event also received a well-deserved participation medal. Congratulations to all the Snowline students who made it this far in the competition and represented their schools with their superb knowledge and spelling abilities.