SIDNEY — After 54 rounds of spelling words, a champion was crowned during the the Sidney City-Wide Spelling Bee Tuesday, Feb. 9, in the Sidney Middle School auditeria.
The bee came to an end when Adith Joshua George, a sixth-grade student from Holy Angels School, correctly spelling the word “formicide.” Nobel Zhou, an eighth-grade student at Sidney Middle School, was the first runner-up; his final work was “velodrome.” Emily Birkemeier, a seventh-grade student at Sidney Middle School, was the second runner-up.
Fourteen spellers from Christian Academy School, Emerson Elementary, Holy Angels School, Longfellow Elementary, Northwood Elementary, Sidney Middle School, and Whittier Elementary competed for the honor of representing Sidney at the Regional Spelling Bee at Rhodes College in Lima in March. The regional bee is sponsored by the Lima News.
The champion, along with the first and second runner-ups, will advance the regional bee.
The following students represented local schools:
• Emily Birkemeier, seventh-grade, Sidney Middle School, daughter of Steven and Barbara Birkemeier
• Rocelyn Cathcart, fourth-grade, Northwood Elementary, daughter of Mark and Darlene Cathcart
• Cambry Cox, fifth-grade, Longfellow Elementary, daughter of Jennifer Cox
• Jace Cromes, fifth-grade, Emerson Elementary, son of Jennifer Kelly
• Ella Eagan, seventh-grade, Sidney Middle School, daughter of Michael and Cathy Eagan
• Joshua George, sixth-grade, Holy Angels School, son of Joseph and Glory George
• Landen Johnson, fifth-grade, Whittier Elementary, son of Kevin and Kim Johnson
• Olivia Keller, fifth-grade, Northwood Elementary, daughter of Rob and Cristina Jenkins
• Emma Michael, eighth-grade, Christian Academy School, daughter of Ted and Janay Michael
• Cassidy Rhoades, seventh-grade, Christian Academy School, daughter of Barry and Kelly Rhoades
• Kyla Rush, fourth-grade, Northwood Elementary, daughter of Yvonne Parke
• Max Schmeising, seventh-grade, Holy Angels School, son of Greg and Christina Schmeising
• Ella Wildenhaus, fifth-grade, Whittier Elementary, daughter of Jim and Laura Wildenhaus
• Nobel Zhou, eighth-grade, Sidney Middle School, son of Jianyou and Lan Bai Zhou
The following students qualified for the city-wide bee but were unable to attend: Kaelin Hickman, fourth-grade, Emerson Elementary, daughter of Wes and Trista Hickman; Brayden Taylor, fourth-grade, Longfellow Elementary, daughter of Sam Taylor and Heather Mundy.
Travis Cooper, speech pathologist for Sidney Schools, pronounced the words. Judging the contest were Anthony Moeder, Sidney City Schools psychologist, Jayna Lewis, Sidney High School counseling secretary, and Jenny VanMatre, retire Sidney City Schools teacher. Brooke Gessler, curriculum director for Sidney City Schools, is the District Spelling Bee coordinator.
