PINE RIVER — From “mess” to “granules,” Pine River-Backus eighth-grader Nesika Belleville never misspelled a word to win the middle school spelling bee Thursday, Feb. 17, in the high school gym.
Classmates and family members watched as 12 students in grades 5-8 competed to represent the school district at the Regional Spelling Bee on March 23, hosted by Sourcewell in Staples.
Taking a sweeping bow, Belleville claimed the title with a smile after correctly spelling “granules” and being proclaimed champion.
Four students battled back and forth from round 11, after three students fell in round 10.
In round 14, fifth-grade alternate Adam Roubal misspelled “expanse,” sixth-grader Avery Goble misspelled “preened,” and fifth-grader Emily Blankenship misspelled “emitting.”
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Belleville correctly spelled “wattles,” before claiming the title with the right spelling of her final word. Words became progressively more difficult after her first-round word, “mess.”
I thought I could do it.
When asked if she thought she could win the spelling bee, Belleville said: “I wasn’t sure because I’ve never been in a spelling bee. I wasn’t nervous in the first place.”
She gained confidence as other students dropped out, though admitted to being “a teensy bit nervous because the words got harder.”
“I thought I could do it,” Belleville said.
To prepare for the school bee, Belleville looked up words on the internet and had her mom read them so she could spell them. She’ll do the same to prepare for the regional bee.
Other PR-B contestants Feb. 17 were:
- Fifth grade: Blankenship, Jackson Kelley and Roubal, the alternate who stood in for Jayda Philipson.
- Sixth grade: Andrew Wolkenhauer, Logan Swiggart and Goble. Alternate was Dean Wynn.
- Seventh grade: Roman Leger, Madilyn Turner and Bethany Schultz. Alternate was Blake Hoplin.
- Eighth grade: Rilian Goble, Elizabeth Dinsmore and Belleville. There was no alternate.
Pronouncer was teacher Kate Davis. Judges were elementary school Principal Rick Aulie, high school Principal Chris Halverson, and Superintendent Jonathan Clark.
“That’s the farthest I’ve had to go in nine years,” Aulie told the participants, referring to the number of spelling bee rounds.
He congratulated the students for doing an outstanding job.
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Nancy Vogt, editor, may be reached at 218-855-5877 or nancy.vogt@pineandlakes.com. Follow her on Facebook and on Twitter at www.twitter.com/@PEJ_Nancy.
