Get ready to dust off those dictionaries because 24 of the best and brightest students in the Culver City Unified School District are getting ready to S-P-E-L-L their way to the top!

On February 2, four students from each of the district’s five elementary schools and Culver City Middle School will compete in CCUSD’s district-wide spelling bee at Linwood E. Howe Elementary School Cafetorium.

The competition, sponsored by The Fineshriber Family Foundation, will begin at 7 p.m. Admission is free, and the public is invited to attend. The Spelling Bee will be taped and broadcast on the local cable access channel shortly after the event.

“Every year, millions of students participate in spelling competitions around the country,” said Superintendent Dave LaRose. “We are excited that we will be having our 10th annual districtwide spelling bee right here in Culver City. It’s a wonderful event that I hope everyone will come and watch.”

The winner of the CCUSD Spelling Bee will advance to the county-wide competition in March in Alhambra, and the winner of the Los Angeles County competition will advance to the statewide spelling bee in May at Sonoma State University.

In addition, the winner of the CCUSD competition will receive a cash prize of $200 courtesy of The Fineshriber Family Foundation. Second- and third-place finishers will receive $150 and $100, respectively. The top three finishers will also receive a trophy, while every Spelling Bee participant will receive a certificate.

All 4th, 5th and 6th-grade students throughout the district have had an opportunity to compete at the school level first, and the top four spellers have advanced to the district-wide competition on February 2. They are:

Culver City Middle School
Clarissa Cheng  •  Willow Hartman
Sheema Muller  •  Kieren Walker
 
El Marino Language School
Diego Brown  •  William “Liam” Burke
Andrew Fan  •  Maiya Kuida Osumi
 
El Rincon Elementary School
Tyson Brazil  •  Maya Christie  
Maher Kabir  •  Victor Yamamoto   
 
Farragut Elementary School
Sophia Bernard  •  Camille Cosato
Mina Guirguis  •  David Lee
 
La Ballona Elementary School
George Gergis  •  Toby Heller
Jayden Mapile  •  Yamaan Shaikh
 
Linwood E. Howe Elementary School
Sam Allen  •  Kate Bancroft
Maria Bessolova  •  Madison Martin del Campo