Plum Grove eighth-grader takes first place in District 15 and North Cook spelling bees

Posted February 11, 2016 10:00 pm

Submitted by District 15

Lekha D., an eighth-grader at Plum Grove Junior High and the 2016 District 15 Spelling Bee champ, has advanced to the regional competition that could send her to nationals.

Lekha won the District 15 Spelling Bee, which qualified her to compete in the 6th annual North Cook ISC Scripps Spelling Bee. That contest was held Tuesday, Feb. 2, at Joseph Sears School in Kenilworth, where she again took first place.

Lekha will now advance to the Regional ISC Championship Competition on Wednesday, Feb. 17, at McClure Junior High in Western Springs. There she will compete against the first-, second- and third-place winners from the Northern, Southern and Western Suburban Cook Spelling Bees for an all-expenses-paid trip to the Washington, D.C., area at the end of May to participate in the 89th annual Scripps National Spelling Bee.

This journey began for Lekha when she won the District 15 Spelling Bee, which was held Jan. 14, at Walter R. Sundling Junior High, by correctly spelling "relinquished" in the competition's 57th round. Reetika S., a seventh-grader at Walter R. Sundling Junior High, finished second after incorrectly spelling "sensei" a round earlier. Rutvi P., a sixth-grader at Virginia Lake School and the 2015 winner of the District 15 Spelling Bee, finished third after incorrectly spelling the word "amalgam" in the competition's 53rd round.

Lekha, Reetika, and Rutvi won their respective school spelling bees to advance to the district competition, as did 16 other students:

• Roshni A., Grade 6, Jane Addams School

• Calvin F., Grade 5, Central Road School

• Jacob R., Grade 5, Kimball Hill School

• Ittiyanam T., Grade 6, Hunting Ridge School

• Katarina K., Grade 5, Thomas Jefferson School

• Gabby B., Grade 4, Marion Jordan School

• Genaro M., Grade 6, Lake Louise School

• Namrta B., Grade 4, Lincoln School

• Shravan N., Grade 5, Stuart R. Paddock School

• Arnan G., Grade 6, Gray M. Sanborn School

• Anika V., Grade 6, Pleasant Hill School

• Sourojit M., Grade 5, Frank C. Whiteley School

• Satvika A., Grade 6, Willow Bend School

• Fawaaz G., Grade 6, Winston Campus Elementary

• Michael M., Grade 7, Carl Sandburg Junior High

• Preethika S., Grade 8, Winston Campus Junior High

• Submit 'Your News' at www.dailyherald.com/share.

Article Comments

Article Comments

Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.