Student from ARL Middle School wins the “caboodle” at district Spelling Bee

On March 9 at Grand County High School in Moab, students from throughout the region participated in the Southeast Education Service Center regional spelling bee.
All the contestants prepared for this year’s Bee by studying thousands of words, hoping to take top honors at the Region Bee.
The top three District spellers, plus Pinnacle Academy, grades 4 through 8 advanced to the Region Bee from bees held in their local schools and districts earlier this year.
Luke Jeppesen, 8th grader from Albert R. Lyman Middle School in San Juan School District, earned the designation as top speller after a competitive twelve rounds in the annual SESC Regional Spelling Bee.
As winner, Luke will get to compete at the Scripps National Spelling Bee in National Harbor, MD. Luke began the bee correctly spelling words such as: gotcha, spindle, sailage, docket, collie, and pitiful. Some of his other words include: existence, hipsterism, merchandise, and redemption.
Second place speller Cadi Heaton, 7th grader from Mont Harmon Middle School, gave Luke a run for his money as they went head to head for four rounds.
Cali misspelled “irritability.” At this point Luke correctly spelled “posterity” and finally the championship word “caboodle”.
Jaivery Pitchforth from San Rafael Middle School, returning for her second year to the regional bee, had a great showing with a third place finish.
Sponsored by SESC, the Region Bee was held at Grand County High School. Jessie Magleby from Grand County Public Library was the pronouncer. Johnna Boyack and JoLynn Torgerson served as judges. The Region Bee is a preliminary competition in the Scripps National Spelling Bee held during Bee Week May 28 - June 2, 2023 in National Harbor, MD.
As first place speller, Luke received a trophy and an all-expense paid trip for him and a chaperone to attend the 2023 Scripps National Spelling Bee, in addition to the Samuel Louis Sugarman Award, one year of Britannica Online Premium and one year of Merriam-Webster unabridged Online subscriptions.
Second and third place spellers received a trophy, and all other participants received a plaque of recognition for making it to the regional bee.
San Juan District spellers were Olive Harris, 5th grade, Blanding Elementary, Hyrum Vess, 7th grade, Monticello High School and Luke Jeppeson, 8th grade, ARL.
The Scripps Bee is the nation’s largest and longest-running educational promotion, administered on a not-for-profit basis by The E.W. Scripps Company.
The Bee’s purpose is to help students improve their spelling, increase their vocabularies, learn concepts, and develop correct English usage that will help them all their lives.
Organizers thank the schools, parents and administrators for supporting the regional bee. They also thank Todd Thompson, Principal of GCHS, who served as MC along with presenting the awards to the students.
Congratulations to all those spellers who competed, and best of luck to Luke as he competes in the National Bee this year!

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