Ehrenfelt wins Spelling Bee
By John Earp
This past Wednesday morning in the Jal Elementary Cafeteria/Auditorium, the 2024 Jal Elementary Spelling Bee was held. Forty students from grades 3rd, 4th, and 5th participated as spellers. Principal Karen Komar was the pronouncer. Ms. Robyn Crawford and Mrs. Christy Little served as judges. Eleven students were eliminated in the first round due to misspelling. Only five were eliminated in round two. By the start of round six, just eight students remained in the running, and only four made it through to the next round. Some of the words spelled in the bee included, “solution,” “liquid,” “women,” “bazar,” “neighbors,” “giraffe,” “mule,” “loose,” “breathe,” and “across.”
Third graders participating in the bee included Justin Baker, Bryan Budd, Valeria Juarez, Violet Maes, Chloe Ramos, Madison Self, Mya Thorne, Isaac Torres, Skylar Valdez, Brooklyn Vega, Victor Tipton, and Mia Quezada. Fourth-grade spellers included Adian Compton, Britta Cook, Sofia Dardon, Kairi Ehrenfelt, Emery Estrada, Luke Lujan, Isabelle Marshall, Keegan Parsons, Aileyn Roman, Jorge Salazar, Alejandro Salgado, Alec Torres, and Paisley Faulkner. Fifth-grade spellers were: Cesar Aguirre, Holland Cook, Noah Garibay, Joanni Granillo, Lyndzy Herrera, Zulaykah Leyva, Kyra Lujan, Julian Martinez, Damian Zamora, Javin Barker, Emery Navarrette, and Emma Angel.
The bee lasted over an hour, with 4th graders Kairi Ehrenfelt and Sofia Dardon taking first place and runner up, respectively. Ehrenfelt says she wants to be a scientist when she grows up, while Dardon wants to become a professional gymnast.
