There was a bit of drama in the Buddy Taylor Middle School cafeteria Tuesday night, as the top spellers from across Flagler County gathered for the district’s Spelling Bee. A trip to the regional Spelling Bee in Jacksonville was on the line as the group of 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th graders went round after round.
When all was said and done (and spelled), Indian Trails Middle School 7th grader Daniel Belkin was declared the winner. The championship word? Dramatization. Cal Zwirn, a Bunnell Elementary 5th grader was runner-up, slipping up on the word “centipede” in the 16th round.
Daniel will represent Flagler County on March 29th as part of the 77th Annual First Coast Regional Spelling Bee. This year’s competition will be done virtually, with the spellers competing from their home schools.
Good luck, Daniel, and congratulations to all our finalists!
School Level Spelling Bee Winners:
Bunnell Elementary
Caldwell Zwirn, 5th Grade
Brianna Long, 6th Grade
Belle Telle Elementary
Tiago De Oliveira, 5th Grade
Victoria Dalton, 6th Grade
Buddy Taylor Middle
Caleb Hart, 7th Grade (did not compete)
Ethan Johnson, 8th Grade (did not compete)
Holly Kittrell, 7th Grade runner-up (replaced Caleb Hart)
iFlagler
Matthew Farlow, 6th Grade
Shelby Brown, 7th Grade
Kasandra Baker, 8th Grade
Indian Trails Middle
Daniel Belkin, 7th Grade
Kailee Smith, 8th Grade
Old Kings Elementary
Alena Karanas, 5th Grade
Samuel Bowes, 6th Grade
Rymfire Elementary
Riley Bouchard, 5th Grade
Muhammad Khawaja, 6th Grade
Wadsworth Elementary
Laila Niemann, 5th Grade
Brian Martinez-Diaz, 6th Grade
Christ the King Lutheran
Nolan Jones, 6th Grade
Kadis Schermerhorn, 8th Grade