It took five rounds, plus a Championship word, to crown this year’s Flagler Schools Spelling Bee winner. After he finished spelling Richter scale, Buddy Taylor Middle School 7th grader Spencer Edelstein was all smiles. He now goes on to represent the district in the 78th Annual First Coast Regional Spelling Bee in Jacksonville on April 1.
Spencer correctly spelled knife, brocade, quatrains and katabatic. But he says his 3rd round word, padre, was the most difficult. “I couldn’t hear the pronunciation clearly on the stage. When he read the origin and repeated it again, I knew exactly what it was, but I wasn’t 100% sure until then.”
Spencer’s mother, Cheryl Edelstein, says her son studied non-stop for the competition. She says he’s also planning on dual enrolling with Daytona State College next fall.
The 2022 District Spelling Bee video is available on the Flagler Schools videos page.
The following students represented their schools in this year’s District Spelling Bee:
| Name | School | Grade |
|---|---|---|
| Sophia Esposito | Belle Terre Elementary | 5 |
| Tiago De Oliveira | Belle Terre Elementary | 6 |
| Spencer Edelstein | Buddy Taylor Middle | 7 |
| Holly Kittrell | Buddy Taylor Middle | 8 |
| Lisset Arroyo | Bunnell Elementary | 5 |
| Gray Parkins | Bunnell Elementary | 6 |
| Jonny Harnisch | Christ the King Lutheran | 5 |
| Hannah Rimpel | Christ the King Lutheran | 8 |
| Sophia Zambrano | iFlagler Virtual | 5 |
| Tyler Peeples | Indian Trails Middle | 7 |
| Alec Riley | Indian Trails Middle | 8 |
| Lauren Rutledge | Old Kings Elementary | 5 |
| Justin Gillespie | Old Kings Elementary | 6 |
| Xavier Duque | Rymfire Elementary | 5 |
| Zenae Mills | Rymfire Elementary | 6 |
| Aubrey Marino | Wadsworth Elementary | 5 |
| Holden Carleton | Wadsworth Elementary | 6 |
