Some Albemarle County students are well on their way to a national spelling bee. Twenty-one students, grades third to eighth, competed in the Albemarle School division's level of the Scripps National Spelling Bee Monday night.
This is the eighth year that Albemarle County has participated in the bee. The competition is designed to help students increase their vocabularies and improve their spelling skills.
"I think the most important thing is that they're here tonight by choice, they're excited, they've prepared and worked hard to get here and we're proud of each and every one of them," said organizer Kristen Williams.
Roshan George from Sutherland Middle School won with the word "paucity." The runner-up was Francesca Berardino from Cale Elementary School.
Students who will also advance to regionals are Hayden Miller of Brownsville Elementary School, Mark Pellissier of Burley Middle School, Sylvia Seay of Crozet Elementary School, Johanna Hall of Greer Elementary School, Ashley Huang of Jouett Middle School and Serena Loomba of Yancey Elementary School.
The regional competition will be at the end of March and the national finals will be held in Washington, D.C., in May.
