Schools

Students buzz back for county spelling bee

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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