CHESTERFIELD – Alacrity. Tapirs. Vociferous. Generalissimo. Uncoquettish. Mitochondria. Cabochon.
These were just a few of the words that participants in the Chesterfield County Public Schools spelling bee were challenged to spell to be crowned champion and advance to the regional spelling bee.
Arinan Johri, a fourth-grader at Marguerite Christian Elementary, is this year’s top speller in Chesterfield County Public Schools. He beat out 18 other Chesterfield students to win the county-wide spelling bee. Arinan correctly spelled “mouthiness” and “trespasser” to win the competition. He will represent the county school system in the regional spelling bee March 17 at the Library of Virginia. The runner-up was Aashna Arora, an eighth-grader at Bailey Bridge Middle.
The spelling bee lasted 15 rounds and featured 12 students from middle schools and seven from elementary schools. The winner of the regional spelling bee will advance to the Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee to be held in May in National Harbor, Md.
We are fortunate and proud to have a plethora of talented and bright students in our school division,” School Board Chair John Erbach said. “A spelling bee is always a challenging competition in which to participate, and we applaud all 19 competitors for the accomplishment of being the top spellers for their individual schools. We will be cheering on Arinan as he competes against students throughout the Richmond region to possibly advance to the national spelling bee.”
