County Spelling Bee Win

The morning of Wednesday, March 12th, twenty-seven district spelling bee winners from throughout Riverside County gathered at the Moreno Valley Conference and Recreation Center in hopes of taking home the 37th Annual Riverside County Spelling Bee trophy. Joining the Spelling Bee Master were 3 judges, an arbitrator, timekeeper, challenge recorder, and a round advisor, students from grades 4 through 8 from their respective districts sought to obtain the County title. After an introduction of judges, the explanation of rules, and encouraging advice from Superintendent Kenneth Young, the Bee ensued for seventeen rounds, six of which had no eliminations. Finally, 3 hours later, with one student left on stage, Keerthana Sivathasan spells her two winning words: "puritan" and "socialite". Keerthana will continue spelling competitively at the National Spelling Bee held May 25-30, 2014 at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in Maryland, where she will represent Riverside County. Keerthana, 8th grader at Corona Fundamental Intermediate School, believes her success is rooted in "putting all [her] effort in it," and "making sure [she's] focused on it." She wrote in her autobiographical summary that her "parents have been helping [her] to prepare" for the Bee. Keerthana spent the rest of her time posing for pictures and beaming with aplomb. Second place winners, Shakson Isaac and Olivia Landis, and third place winner, Jenna-May Ingal leave the Conference Center with trophies of their own. Before exiting, Jenna-May confidently asserts, "I know that I'll be back next year," marking her 5th time making it to the County Spelling Bee. The county awaits in anticipation for their very own Keerthana to appear at Nationals where they hope she will bring first back home to Riverside County.