The West Sedona School hosted its annual spelling bee for the first time since 2017. And it was the word “basically” that crowned the winner.
Two contestants from the third, fourth and fifth grades competed against one another for the title and trophies provided by the Kiwanis Club.
Fourth-grader, Fernanda Villegas Vara won the spelling bee after five rounds, with fifth-grader Miles Kinney coming in second.
“I’m so happy I won,” Villegas Vara said “I studied really hard, but I was very nervous about it.”
Another word that knocked out the contestants was “trickster.” The contestants who were the winners and runners-up from their respective classes include third-graders Hendrix Arevalo and Angelo Carvajal Cruz, fifth-grader Isaac Melendez, and the other fourth-grader class winner, Neftali Monte de Oca.
It was Kiwanis Club member Jerry Showalter who suggested that the spelling bee be brought back after a five-year hiatus, with West Sedona School teacher Deb Sanders, organizing the event.
“[We were] so excited to bring this crucial tradition back to WSS,” Principal Aaron Coleman said. “I will never forget being runner-up in the third grade.”
The West Sedona School is also thinking about potentially bringing in the geography bee for students to participate in, which would potentially include other schools in the county.
