NSCSD students advance to Regional Spelling Bee

On Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024, thirty students from Roxboro Road Middle School, Gillette Road Middle and North Syracuse Junior High School gathered at the North Syracuse Central School District Office to compete in a districtwide spelling bee. 

The talented youth from grades five through eight were challenged with a variety of words ranging from simple spellings such as “gothic” and “phantom” to more difficult spellings such as “perpetuate” and “immunization.” All students came to this competition after completing written and oral exams within their schools.

This year’s competition was exceptionally strong, with all participants showcasing stellar spelling skills. In the end, it came down to an intense 16-round showdown between contestant #22 Isaac Butterfield and contestant #9 Benjamin Ehret, both from Gillette Road Middle School. The pair matched each other word for word, correctly spelling terms such as “artificial,” “detainees,” “endowed,” “alighted,” “rancid,” “suffocate,” and “euphoria.”

Ultimately, the winning word was “noncommittal,” correctly spelled by Isaac Butterfield, who then secured his victory with the correct spelling of “infrastructure.” Gillette Road Middle School 5th grader Benjamin Ehret placed second, followed by Matthew Conner (6th grade), who is also from Gillette Road Middle School, in third place.

The top four competitors from each school will advance to a written spelling bee in February. The students moving on to that competition are:

From Gillette Road Middle School: Isaac Butterfield (6th grade) Benjamin Ehret (5th grade) Matthew Conner (6th grade) Grace Thibault (5th grade) From Roxboro Road Middle School: Avarie Brocious (6th grade) Caiden Gaff (7th grade) Connor Sweeney (5th grade) Greyson Mondo (6th grade) From North Syracuse Junior High School: Elijah Ehret (8th grade) Felicity Lane (8th grade) Willow LaVergne (8th grade)

The following students participated in this year’s competition: Abilene Baker (7th Grade Gillette Road Middle School), Avarie Brocious (6th Grade Roxboro Road Middle School), Isaac Butterfield (6th Grade Gillette Road Middle School), Jaiden Carson (7th Grade Roxboro Road Middle School), Alexandria Clark (7th Grade Roxboro Road Middle School), Matthew Conner (6th Grade Gillette Road Middle School), Benjamin Ehret (5th Grade Gillette Road Middle School), Elijah Ehret (8th Grade North Syracuse Junior High School), Lucia Femenella (7th Grade Gillette Road Middle School), Gabriella Fiori (7th Grade Gillette Road Middle School), Caiden Gaff (7th Grade Roxboro Road Middle School), Tannella Haas (6th Grade Gillette Road Middle School), Delaney Hicks (6th Grade Gillette Road Middle School), Kelan Krause (7th Grade Gillette Road Middle School), Felicity Lane (8th Grade North Syracuse Junior High School), Willow LaVergne (8th Grade North Syracuse Junior High School), Farid Malekizade (5th Grade Gillette Road Middle School), Greyson Mondo (6th Grade Roxboro Road Middle School), Michaela Noun (7th Grade Roxboro Road Middle School), Skyler Ottman (5th Grade Gillette Road Middle School), Emma Reitano (6th Grade Gillette Road Middle School), Abigail Rice (7th Grade Gillette Road Middle School), Vincent Santorelli (5th Grade Gillette Road Middle School), Connor Sweeney (5th Grade Roxboro Road Middle School), Grace Thibault (5th Grade Gillette Road Middle School), Hayden Totty (7th Grade Gillette Road Middle School), Aubree Wright (7th Grade Roxboro Road Middle School), Madelyn Zawadzki (7th Grade Gillette Road Middle School), and Brian Zhang (5th Grade Roxboro Road Middle School).