Kennethan Nguyen of Alamitos Intermediate School earned the title of champion of the 29th annual Garden Grove Unified School District Spelling Bee for seventh and eighth-grade students on Jan. 27.
He correctly spelled the deciding word, harpsichord, to become the top speller among more than 7,100 intermediate school students in the district.
Kennethan Nguyen of Alamitos Intermediate School earned the title of champion of the 29th annual Garden Grove Unified School District Spelling Bee for seventh and eighth-grade students on Jan. 27.
He correctly spelled the deciding word, harpsichord, to become the top speller among more than 7,100 intermediate school students in the district.
Kennethan, an eight-grader, captured the title after a grueling back-and-forth exchange with Lavina Ngo of Jordan Intermediate, who earned runner-up honors. Both were followed by Thu Phan of Irvine Intermediate, third place; and Theresa Tran of Ralston Intermediate, fourth place. Other honored participants included Hulbert Dang of Walton Intermediate, fifth place; Allan Dang of Lake Intermediate, sixth place; Ethan Dao of Ralston Intermediate, seventh place; David Vo of Lake Intermediate, eighth place; Amy Nguyen of Jordan Intermediate, ninth place; and Rushika Weerackoon of Bell Intermediate, 10th place.
District Board of Education President George West, Vice President Teri Rocco, and Trustee Lan Quoc Nguyen presented trophies to the top 10 spellers, and all contest entrants received certificates of participation.
English-language arts teachers Craig Fahey and Anh Daniel Sam served as the coaches for the four spelling bee contestants from Alamitos Intermediate.
Each of the district’s 10 intermediate schools entered its four best spellers in the district competition. Participants were asked to spell such words as pulchritude, eleemosynary and unhygienic.
The district champion and the nine runners-up will represent the district at the Orange County Department of Education’s Spelling Competition, with the written segment scheduled February 22, followed by the deciding oral spelling round on Feb. 27.
