LYNN — An aspiring paleontologist, a bug-hating 5th grader who wants to be a nature photographer, and a competitor destined to be either the first woman in the NBA or a gynecologist, will face off in The Daily Item’s Regional Spelling Bee on March 23.
But last year’s champion Ashrita Gandhari will return to try to outspell them all. The fifth grader from Franklin Elementary School in North Andover took top place in last year’s bee after 30 rounds of relentless competition. She successfully spelled ‘uvula’ and was presented with a massive Merriam-Webster Dictionary.
Selling isn’t Gandhari’s only game. She’s also competed in her school’s Math Olympiad twice.
Winners have been announced from 47 of 61 competing schools. This year, the regional contest has been expanded to include some schools in Bristol, Norfolk, and Plymouth counties in addition to Essex, Middlesex and Suffolk.
The winner of The Item’s regional bee will move on to the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C. The champion will take home airfare, accommodations, and spending money for the five-day trip, a $100 gift card to Amazon, a one-year premium subscription to Britannica Online Premium, a Merriam-Webster Unabridged Online one-year subscription, a Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary (11th Edition), Valerie’s Spelling Bee Supplement – the New “Nautical Words,” and The Samuel Louis Sugarman 2018 United States Mint Proof set.
Second and third place will snag a $50 and $25 Amazon gift cards. The prizes are sponsored by Joel and Mary Abramson, owners of Flagship Travel, a Marblehead-based travel agency.
The Spelling Bee will be on March 23 at 6 p.m. at The Lynn City Hall Memorial Auditorium. School champions slated to compete in The Item Spelling Bee include:
Andover
Joseph Masterson
St. Michael Elementary School
William Yue
The Pike School
Canton
Christopher Pho
W.M.H. Galvin Middle School
Danvers
Emma Hatch
Holten Richmond Middle School
Franklin
Mia Magliari
Benjamin Franklin Classical Charter School
Haverhill
Braedon Smith
John G. Whittier Middle School
Hingham
Grace Ji
South Elementary School
Jonathan Rodriguez
Bellesini Academy
Lawrence
Zachary DeRoche
St. Monica School
Lynn
Alan DeLeon Guzman
Drewicz Elementary School
Edna Lendo
Connery Elementary School
Emmah Faris-Howes
Thurgood Marshall Middle School
Faileny Torres
Lincoln-Thompson Elementary School
Jacob Beyea
Lynn Woods School
Jonathan Berger
Washington Elementary School
Jose Martinez
Kipp Academy Lynn Charter School
Leenah Rena
Robert L. Ford Elementary School
Leylani Kem
E.J. Harrington School
Makayla Sary-Yen
Ingalls Elementary School
Michelle Azzun
St. Pius V. School
Nneji Mang Moenae
Pickering Middle School
Sierra-Leone Green
Capt. William G. Shoemaker School
Taleiysa Jomes
Sisson Elementary School
Lynnfield
Julia Ho
Lynnfield Middle School
Marblehead
Graham Kramer
The Village Elementary School
Massimo Bottari
Veterans Middle School
Sebby Pantzer
Marblehead Community Charter School
Methuen
Ablah Maryam Siddiq
The Islamic Academy for Peace
Nahant
June Crowley
Johnson Elementary School
North Andover
Ashrita Gandhari
Franklin Elementary School
Norton
Catherine Koran
Foxborough Regional Charter School
Peabody
Sofia Valencia
Higgins Middle School
Revere
Achraf Malki
Beachmont Veterans Memorial School
Annabella Sandy-Roche
Garfield Middle School
David Kossol
Garfield Elementary School
Dylan Blaisdell
Susan B. Anthony Middle School
Isha Assan
A.C. Whelan Elementary School
Jon Begolli
Paul Revere School
Kamilla Souza
Abraham Lincoln School
Melih Yilmaz
Rumney Marsh Academy
Sara Granados
Hill Elementary School
Rockport
Jakob Timmons
Rockport Middle School
Saugus
Vanessa Murati
Waybright Elementary School
Swampscott
Michael Grigoryan
Clarke Elementary School
Ned Jefferies
Hadley Elementary School
Wakefield
William Enjia Buswell
Covenant Christian Academy
Walpole
Maryjane Timilt
Eleanor N. Johnson Middle School
