Feb. 23, 2007 — What do escargot, perestroika, commissar, parallel and vagabond have in common? Diana Cardenas spelled them all correctly Friday to win the 2007 District Spelling Bee championship.
Cardenas, a 12-year-old sixth grader at the Pearl B. Larsen Elementary School, outspelled 25 competitors to win the contest, held in the Juanita Gardine Elementary School auditorium. She spelled all 17 or her words correctly.
In addition to Cardenas, other top spellers who will represent the district in the Territorial Spelling Bee in March are Julisa Marcel, Church of God Holiness Academy; Ismail Yusuf, IQRA Academy; Jo-Ann Thomas-Lewis, Seventh Day Adventist School; K'ianna Watson, Claude O. Markoe School; and Bria Wallace, Ricardo Richards School.
Other school spelling bee champions were: Shaquille Thomas, Elena Christian Junior High; Keione James, Lew Muckle Elementary; Rashid Iles, Arthur A. Richards Junior High; Kiara Abramson, St. Mary's; Erin Bryan, Eulalie Rivera Elementary; Tamika Thompson, Charles H. Emanuel Elementary; Diarra Thomas, Manor School; Nellisa Benjamin, St. Croix Christian Academy; Katie Morgan, Country Day; Chenelle Adams, Alexander Henderson Elementary School; Malachi Bess, Free Will Baptist; Henry Mark, Good Hope; Kimberly Cruz, Alfredo Andrews Elementary; Raedyance Nicks, School of the Good Shepherd; Mhaleek Nichols, Juanita Gardine Elementary; Adrian Gordon, John H. Woodson Junior High; Briana Eugene, Randolph Lockhart School; Nehemiah Lloyd, AZ Academy; Chedelle Antoine, Evelyn M. Williams Elementary; and Jessica Alvarez, Glynn Christian Academy.
The St. Croix District Spelling Bee is sponsored by the Department of Education's Curriculum, Assessment and Technology division; the St. Croix superintendent's office; the V.I. Daily News; Scholastic; Houghton Mifflin; Pearson Education Caribbean; and participating schools.
