Winston 8th-grader caps off spelling bee career with a win

Posted March 07, 2011 10:00 pm

Tim Waldorf

Jonathan Matthew, the three-time District 15 Spelling Bee champ, nearly qualified for the Scripps National Spelling Bee after adding yet another first-place medal to his already impressive collection.

Jonathan took first place in the Suburban Cook Northern Area Spelling Bee, which was held Feb. 8 at Joseph Sears School in Kenilworth. This victory sent him to compete in the Suburban Cook County Regional Spelling Bee for a spot in the national competition.

It was Jonathan's third opportunity to compete in the regional contest, which was held February 17 at Mannheim Middle School in Melrose Park. In each of the two previous years, his third-place finishes in the area bees qualified him to compete at regionals. On both occasions, he finished third behind the same two students who took first and second in the area competitions.

This year, though, he finished one word away from an appearance in the Scripps National Spelling Bee. Jonathan, who is an eighth-grader at Winston Campus Junior High, completed his remarkable career as a spelling bee contestant by taking second place in the Suburban Cook County Regional Spelling Bee.

Congratulations, Jonathan, on an outstanding, three-year run of spelling bee success!

-Story submitted by Community Consolidated School District 15

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