By WILLIAM SNOWDEN
Editor
The winning word was “avens.” As in “plants of a genus of perrenial herbs with pinnate or hyrate leaves and flowers with long plumose persistent styles.”
And Kendyl Byrd, a 5th grader at Shadeville, won the district spelling bee by spelling it correctly.
Mirri Craig, an 8th grader at Wakulla Middle School, was runner-up in the spelling bee, held Friday, Jan. 12 at the auditorium in the district office.
Craig was knocked out in the 15th round of the spelling bee by the word “scandium,” which is “a white metallic element found especially in various minerals in certain northern European countries.”
Other students competing in the bee included Brentley Brannan, 4th grader at Crawfordville Elementary; Emily Costigan, a 5th grader at Riversink Elementary; Mischa Fretterd, a 7th grader at COAST Charter School; Jovier Henderson, 5th grader at COAST; Ehulani Lopez-Logran, 5th grader at Medart Elementary; Emmie Salis, 4th grader at Medart; Isaiah Sims, 7th grader at Riversprings Middle; Jett Smith, 5th grader at Riversink Elementary; Pierce Vearil, 7th grader at Wakulla Middle; and Roedy Wells, 6th grader at Riversprings. Two contestants were absent due to illness, Lydia James, 5th grader at Shadeville; and Evey McNamara, 4th grader at Crawfordville.
Some of the other tough words that knocked competitors out of the bee were “luciferin,” “hypocaust,” “antechamber,” “Erlenmeyer flask.”
Byrd will represent Wakulla at the regional spelling bee to be held in Tallahassee. If unable to make it, Craig would be the district’s contestant.
Wakulla Sun Editor William Snowden was one of the judges and presented Byrd with a Merriam-Webster dictionary. Other judges were Megan Smith of English Financial and Sue Anderson, retired from Wakulla County Schools.
School board member Melisa Taylor was the pronouncer. Holly Harden was the moderator.
