Spelling Bee Goes to Two-Time Winner

For the second year in a row, 9-year-old Emily Madaras of Wilchester Elementary School, a fifth-grader, was the last student standing in the SBISD Annual Spelling Bee. She’s now won the crown for spelling twice.

The Spelling Bee, held Feb. 12 in the mini-auditorium at Spring Woods High School, drew more than 40 elementary or middle school students. All the students had been named either winner or runner-up in school spelling contests. The Spelling Bee was the district’s biggest competition ever, and it ran for 18 separate rounds.

Finishing second was McKenna Tanner, a sixth-grader at Cornerstone Academy. Two brothers, Carson Foster of Bunker Hill Elementary and Kendrick Foster of Memorial Middle School, rounded out the final four spellers left on the mini-auditorium stage after 15 rounds of words and student eliminations.

Emily’s path to victory included an official appeal to the judges, which kept the smart speller in play on stage in front of the judges and microphone. The words “marsupial” and “permeability” helped pick Emily as the winner.

After claiming the top position, Emily joined her younger sister and parents. She was hungry, and ready for a really good restaurant for her celebration lunch. “Americas!” she exclaimed.

Her parents, John and Karen Madaras, said that Emily started reading at a very young age and spelling at age 2. Emily's natural ability to spell is enhanced by her voracious appetite for reading.

Emily will be representing SBISD in the Houston PBS Texas Regional Bee, which will be televised live March 29th.

The official pronouncer for the recent annual Spelling Bee was Mary Grace Landrum, a former SBISD Board of Trustees member.

Joining her as event judges were Bendwood Principal Jana Bassett; Lynette Breedlove, Ed.D., district director of Advanced Academic Studies; and Jennifer Cobb, district director of program evaluation and research.

Spelling Bee sponsor was Amy Ellingson, a teacher on assignment in the Advanced Academic Studies Dept. Special thanks were extended to local volunteer Roberta Smiley and Blue Willow Bookstore.

Campus Winners and Runners-Up:

Elementary Schools

Bunker Hill – Naman Mehndiratta, Winner; Carson Foster, Runner-Up
Cedar Brook – Kevin Ho, Winner; Isabella Luu, Runner-Up
Edgewood – Kenny Nguyen, Winner; Carlos Reyes Guzman, Runner-Up
Frostwood – Catherine Lu, Winner; Jaden Yi, Runner-Up
Housman – Martha Moreno, Winner; Lucia Romo, Runner-Up
Hunters Creek – Natalie Boquist, Winner; Zachary Gould, Runner-Up
Memorial Drive – Hannah Krenz, Winner; Max Lasco, Runner-Up
Ridgecrest – Binh Tran, Winner; Jonathan Castro, Runner-Up
Shadow Oaks – Lucas Donnelly, Winner; Alicia Balbuena, Runner-Up
Spring Branch – Jorge Salayes Quinonez, Winner; Jonathan Rosales
Terrace – Macy Hempe, Winner; Kiera Yetiv, Runner-Up
Valley Oaks – Drew Schachel, Winner; Lucas Williams, Runner-Up
Westwood – Kiana Padilla, Winner; Lissett Campoverde, Runner-Up

Middle Schools

Cornerstone Academy
McKenna Tanner, Winner; Chloe Gordon, Runner-Up

Landrum Middle
Brandon Baltazar, Winner; Natalie Garcia, Runner-Up

Memorial Middle
Kendrick Foster, Winner; Alexandra Freytes, Runner-Up

Spring Branch Middle
Isha Thapar, Winner; Roberto-Eduard (Edy) Lipianu, Runner-Up

Spring Forest Middle
Clare Gibennus, Winner; Emily Gladstone, Runner-Up

Spring Oaks Middle
Thania Garcia, Winner; Nicolas Hardin, Runner-Up

Westchester Academy
Dash Jacobs, Winner; Shahir Ali, Runner-Up