The Greenbrier County Board of Education recognized county Spelling Bee winners in grade 4-8 during Time Out for Applause at its Feb. 9 meeting. Greenbrier County Elementary/Middle School Education Director and Spelling Bee Coordinator Lynne Bostic introduced and recognized students who advanced to the county bee from their respective schools and each student received a certificate of achievement. Seventeen students in ten schools participated.
Ariana Mooney, a 7th grade student at Western Greenbrier Middle School, won the county spelling bee in the 16th round, correctly spelling the word “relinquished.” Lawson Hamilton, a 5th grade student at Lewisburg Elementary School, was the runner-up, and Patrick Plaugher, an 8th grade student at Eastern Greenbrier Middle School placed as the alternate.
On Mar. 12, Mooney represented Greenbrier County at the Regional Spelling Bee at Capitol High School in Charleston.
Also winning school bees to advance to the county competition were: Kaylea Terry, Alderson Elementary; Maggie Armstrong, Eastern Greenbrier Middle; Peyton Pack, Eastern Greenbrier Middle; Cole Morgan, Frankford Elementary; Enoch Brookman, Lewisburg Baptist Academy; Saif Rehman, Lewisburg Elementary; Chance Hanna, Rainelle Elementary; Lillian Carola, Ronceverte Elementary; Jensen Livesay, Ronceverte Elementary; Marc-Alan Smith, Rupert Elementary; Riley Hedrick, Smoot Elementary; Jeremiah Hart, Western Greenbrier Middle; David Anderson, White Sulphur Elementary; and Luke Dolan, White Sulphur Elementary.
Headquartered in Cincinnati, OH, the National Spelling Bee is the nation’s largest and longest-running educational promotion, administered on a nonprofit basis by The E.W. Scripps Company and local spelling bee sponsors around the globe. The purpose of the National Spelling Bee is to help students improve their spelling, increase their vocabularies, learn concepts, and develop correct English usage that will help them all their lives.