NYSSA — Area students will buzz back to Nyssa this week for the eighth annual Malheur County Spelling Bee.
Matt Murray, federal programs director and former principal of Nyssa Elementary School, started the annual competition during his tenure. He said the bee allows high-achieving students an “opportunity to shine.”
The elementary school will host the competition on Thursday, March 14. Organizers expect over 100 first– through eighth-grade students from almost all of the county’s more than 20 schools.
Free and open to the public, Murray said he expects 250 spectators. The event will be streamed live online.
Murray said a check-in and breakfast are scheduled from 7:15 a.m. to 8 a.m. The event will conclude with a championship round at about 11:15 a.m. and an award ceremony and lunch at noon.
Murray said last year’s top speller, Lilly Anderson, an eighth grader from Adrian, is the defending champion. He said the grand prize to the winner is $500.
Murray said students spend several hours a week preparing for the event. That begins in early February when they get a list of words for their respective grade levels, according to Murray.
From there, students from each school compete for one slot in their grade to represent their school at the county contest. Only one winner prevails.
Murray said that while everyone enjoys and supports athletic competitions, Malheur County has few academic competitions. How many academic competitions can people name? Murray asked.
“This is a premier opportunity for students to compete academically at a high level,” Murray said. “And it’s a pretty exciting spectator event!”
NYSSA — Area students will buzz back to Nyssa this week for the eighth annual Malheur County Spelling Bee.
Matt Murray, federal programs director and former principal of Nyssa Elementary School, started the annual competition during his tenure. He said the bee allows high-achieving students an “opportunity to shine.”
The elementary school will host the competition on Thursday, March 14. Organizers expect over 100 first– through eighth-grade students from almost all of the county’s more than 20 schools.
Free and open to the public, Murray said he expects 250 spectators. The event will be streamed live online.
Murray said a check-in and breakfast are scheduled from 7:15 a.m. to 8 a.m. The event will conclude with a championship round at about 11:15 a.m. and an award ceremony and lunch at noon.
Murray said last year’s top speller, Lilly Anderson, an eighth grader from Adrian, is the defending champion. He said the grand prize to the winner is $500.
Murray said students spend several hours a week preparing for the event. That begins in early February when they get a list of words for their respective grade levels, according to Murray.
From there, students from each school compete for one slot in their grade to represent their school at the county contest. Only one winner prevails.
Murray said that while everyone enjoys and supports athletic competitions, Malheur County has few academic competitions. How many academic competitions can people name? Murray asked.
“This is a premier opportunity for students to compete academically at a high level,” Murray said. “And it’s a pretty exciting spectator event!”
Here are the contestants as provided by event organizers:
1st Grade
Adrian – Blakely May
Aiken – Sachin Bagha
Alameda – Leilani Hernandez
Annex – LaVeah Byrd
Arock – Kolton White
Cairo – Lyric Olivares
Four Rivers – Violet Whinery
Harper – Clayton Doukas
Jordan Valley – Kinzlee Warnock
Juntura – Isaiah Saldivar
May Roberts – Evelyn J. Stuwe
Nyssa – Ryler Takehara
Pioneer - Eliah Arechiga
Vale – Otis Roan
Willowcreek – Riggin Delong
2nd Grade
Adrian – Nayton Walsh
Aiken – Eduardo Torres Escobedo
Alameda – Eon Manning
Annex – Curtis Schubert
Arock – Eliel Mendoza
Cairo – Gerardo Perez Jimenez
Four Rivers – Abel Ramirez
Harper – Allison Jensen
Jordan Valley – Skylar Tipton
Juntura – Joshua Whetton
May Roberts – Emily McCallum
Nyssa – Benjamin Gonzalez
Pioneer – Ashley Alanis Martinez
St. Peter – Andrew Mackenzie
Vale – Zoe Coy
Willowcreek – Eloise Marvin
3rd Grade
Adrian – Tate May
Aiken – Zoe Ruiz
Alameda – Amari Vestnys
Annex – Maya McLeran
Cairo – Jayden Casares-Hernandez
Four Rivers – Landon Rodriguez
Harper – Paisley Belnap
Jordan Valley – Raimey Starbuck
Juntura – Payton Overcash
May Roberts – Dalilah Dunn
Nyssa – Carter Moody
Pioneer – Braxton Bergquist
St Peter – Lucas Bentz
Vale – Katy Wolfe
Willowcreek – Brooke Chamberlain
4th Grade
Adrian – Kerington Kinkade
Aiken – Kieran MacKenzie
Alameda – Evelyn Lazo
Annex – Carly Clark-Garza
Arock – Zada Eiguren
Cairo – Ally Rodriguez
Four Rivers – Brackett Hung
Harper – Sydney Hall
Jordan Valley – Jillian Cornwell
May Roberts – Audrina Parra
Nyssa – Marlie Thompson
Pioneer – Malcolm McEwen
St. Peter – Claycee Ruiz
Vale – Quinn Johnson
Willowcreek – Braydon Jones
5th Grade
Adrian – Mason Johnson
Aiken – Brock Heninger
Alameda – Adam Elamary
Annex – Clayton Clark
Cairo – Izabella Peovich
Four Rivers – Selena Melendrez
Harper – Paige Belnap
Jordan Valley – Paisley Starbuck
Juntura – Cooper Overcash
May Roberts – Xavier Flores
Nyssa – Sylvia Draper
Pioneer – Tavian Bergquist
Vale – Camden Church
Willowcreek – Coco Flynn
6th Grade
Adrian – Tyson Daugherty
Alameda – Caroline Contreras
Annex – Emma Thomas
Four Rivers – Dominic Hernandez
Harper – Troy Johnson
Jordan Valley – Quincy Dufurrena
May Roberts – Laila Bini Acheson
Nyssa – Madison Martinsen
St. Peter – Jakob Rodriguez
Vale – Rigby Phillips
Willowcreek – Caul Cummings
7th Grade
Adrian – Yaritza Moreno
Annex – Ashton Costello
Four Rivers – Liam Grove
Harper – Somaya Osorio
Nyssa – Alexis Camarillo
Ontario – Tristan Dana
Vale – David Atkinson
Willowcreek – McCarty Corder
8th Grade
Adrian – Lilly Anderson
Four Rivers – Emiliano Barrera
Harper – Tana Sherman
Nyssa – Christian Martinez
Ontario – Kory Lewis
Vale – Addison Morgan
Willowcreek – Isaac Kirschbaum
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