Clarence Middle School Students Enjoy Spelling Bee Competition

The competition was buzzing at Clarence Middle School as students competed in the school’s annual spelling bee.

Eighth grader Jaydheep Rajaram won the bee by correctly spelling fordize, defined as to standardize in the interests of efficiency and mass production. Despite having never heard the word before, Jaydheep, who goes by Jay, was able to figure out the winning word by asking questions to piece together the word’s stems.

Fellow eighth grader Samuel Gibson finished as the runner up in the January 7 competition, which brought together 29 students. Rounding out the top five were seventh grader Rose Reed, eighth grader Kian Banifatemi and sixth grader Ava Ramachandran. Students became eligible for the bee after taking part in a qualifying test.

The school’s spelling bee was decided in 29 rounds, forty fewer than the marathon competition that broke school records the previous year. For their spelling success, Jay won a Kindle and Samuel a gift card for Barnes & Noble, with prizes donated by the Clarence Middle School PTO.

Following his victory, Jay will take a regional qualifier test with hopes to compete in a regional event in March. The Scripps National Spelling Bee will take place May 27-29.