On Monday, January 27, Middle Schoolers gathered in Mary Eliot Chapel for the highly-anticipated, annual spelling bee. The Spelling Bee is an after-school club at MICDS, and anyone in fifth through eighth grades is eligible to participate.
In preparation for this spelling bee competition, the club held four practice sessions starting in November. During the practice sessions, students played games such as Scattergories, NYT Spelling Bee, and practiced words as a whole group and individually. Then, when it was time for the school bee, the following 14 students chose to participate:
- Shivatmika Muntha ’32
- Brenda Huang ’32
- Eliza Krieger ’32
- Priyanka Gandhi ’32
- Chiaya Evans ’32
- Mariam Zaid ’31
- Amaar Raja ’30
- Andrew Sonn ’30
- Wyatt Eggers ’30
- Sarvajith Ganapathi Subramanian ’30
- Ryen Day ’30
- Aarushi Gokulakrishnan ’30
- Jen Salazar-Estrada ’29
- Isha Rajesh ’29
For the final competition, the Scripps National Spelling Bee provides an annual competition list of words from first through eighth grade. The MICDS Middle School Spelling Bee starts the contest at the fifth-grade words and almost made it through all of the eighth-grade words!
The bee is conducted in rounds with each speller having the opportunity to spell a word orally, one person at a time. If a student misspells a word, they are eliminated from the bee, and the bee continues until one student successfully spells a word correctly in a round where they are the only remaining participant. This year, Olivia Halverson, Middle School English Teacher, was the pronouncer. Lynn Mittler, JK-12 English Department Chair and Upper School English Teacher, and Beth Garcia, Middle School English Teacher, served as judges and record keepers for the competition. The 2025 spelling bee consisted of 16 rounds.
Congratulations to fifth grader Brenda Huang for spelling her way to become the 2025 MICDS Spelling Bee Champion! “It felt great that all the hours I spent studying for the bee were worth it,” Brenda reflects. “The win also reminded me of how hard work can give good results and make you feel satisfied.” What was her winning word? Euphoria! Need it in a sentence? We hope that Brenda found herself in a state of E-U-P-H-O-R-I-A from winning the contest!
Thank you to all of the students who came together for this fun competition with fellow Rams who are interested in spelling. “This is my fourth year conducting the MICDS Spelling Bee, and it’s incredible to see students’ voracious passion for learning the words!” exclaims Ms. Halverson. “Being a club that is open to all middle schoolers, I feel fortunate to witness the collaboration and connectivity that is built amongst the students across grade levels. Spelling Bee brings out students’ competitive nature as well as empathy for those who excel beyond their current position. The students who participate truly embody the Middle School’s mantra of L.E.A.D. – Learning with curiosity and joy, Embracing challenge, Advocating for self and others, and Demonstrating collaboration and teamwork.”
Thank you to Ms. Halverson, Ms. Mittler, and Ms. Garcia for setting up such a fun community event for our wise spellers. Congratulations to Brenda and all of our Rams for having the courage to participate in the 2025 Spelling Bee!