Little River Elementary Student Wins Cherokee Spelling Bee

Thirty-two Cherokee County School District students put their spelling skills to the test on Thursday, Jan. 24 during the Cherokee Education Association’s Annual Spelling Bee.  

Little River Elementary School fifth-grader Sathvika Narasimhan correctly spelled “aria” and then “sputnik” to claim first place in the county bee.  

Dean Rusk Middle School eighth-grader Ceci Webb won second place, and Arnold Mill Elementary School fifth-grader Callie Goins came in third.  Oak Grove Elementary School fourth-grader Connor Fisher is the fourth-place alternate. 

Each school district elementary, intermediate and middle school sent its school-level winner to the county spelling bee in hopes of taking home the title and a chance to advance to the regional competition.  Students in grades 4-8 are eligible for the competition. 

The group of super spellers went through 12 rounds of words before a champion was declared in the event, which was held at Cherokee High School. 

The first-, second- and third-place winners will compete at the regional District Spelling Bee next month in Cobb County.  

The students ran through more than 100 words during the competition, including tricky terms like “salubrious,” “incandescence,” “diaphanous” and “hors d’oeuvre.”  

The event is sponsored each year by Cherokee County Association of Educators and the Georgia Association of Educators. 

Lillian Burnaman welcomed the audience and spellers; Ana Pettit served as caller of the words; and Dr. Carla Cohen, Peta Murray and School Board Chair Janet Read were judges for the event. 

CCSD School Finalists for 2013 are: Callie Goins, Arnold Mill Elementary; Codey Borrelli, Avery Elementary; Andrew Cowart, Ball Ground Elementary; Jaidan Phillips, Bascomb Elementary; Olivia Laflamme, Boston Elementary; Ashton Chapman, Canton Elementary; Michael Brown, Carmel Elemenary; Kui Iruku, Chapman Intermediate; Gardenia Avendano, Clark Creek Elementary; Kate Goodwin, Clayton Elementary; Kelly Hart, Creekland Middle; Ceci Webb, Dean Rusk Middle; Ndya Baldwin, E.T. Booth Middle; Joseph Satterfield, Free Home Elementary; Avery Stanley, Freedom Middle; James Edwards, Hasty Elementary; Jackson Taylor, Hickory Flat Elementary; Jacob Melnick, Holly Springs Elementary; Desmond Leake, Indian Knoll Elementary; Karina Lax, Johnston Elementary; Hunter Woodall, Knox Elementary; Braden Webb, Liberty Elementary; Sathvika Narasimhan, Little River Elementary; Alyssa Martin, Macedonia Elementary; Jayleen Mitchell, Mill Creek Middle; Carlee Webb, Mountain Road Elementary; Connor Fisher, Oak Grove Elementary; Sean Brubaker, RM Moore Elementary; Carly Henderson, Sixes Elementary; Cara Werner, Teasley Middle; Hayden Rieder, Woodstock Elementary; and Alexandra Hegman, Woodstock Middle.