After taking a 50-word online written test in January, four top spellers from the Westerville City School District were invited to compete at the Scripp’s Regional Spelling Bee which was held at Ohio University on March 16. Middle school students Diamond Hasberry (Blendon), Michael Qi (Genoa), Zachary Ryan (Heritage), and Jocelyn Mitchell (Walnut Springs) fared well in the contest, with Ryan advancing to the fourth round. They competed against 66 other talented spellers from across the region.
The Scripps (www.spellingbee.com) is the nation's largest and longest-running spelling bee administered on a not-for-profit basis by The E.W. Scripps Company. Scripps Spelling Bees are held in the United States, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Department of Defense Schools in Europe as well as the Bahamas, China, Ghana, Jamaica, Japan and South Korea. Top students from regional events will head to the National Scripps Spelling Bee in D.C. May 26–June 1, 2013.