By Lisa Carolin
Beach Middle School has a lot to be proud of following an impressive showing at the SEMMLAA (Southeastern Michigan Middle Level Administrator Association) Annual Spelling Bee, held the weekend of Nov. 13 in Milan.
In addition to many Beach students competing and placing at the event, eighth-grader Keenan Basar and sixth-grader Claire Vaquera were both champions.
Students from Chelsea, Dexter, Milan, Lincoln, Saline and Pinckney all participated according to grade level in competitions that matched the Scripps National Spelling Bee format.
“It’s really great to see our students compete in areas outside of athletics,” said Beach Principal Matt Ceo. “Many of our students participate in after school activities that are extremely valuable and need a lot of time and attention to hone and perfect. This spelling bee is representative of those endeavors, and we are so proud of our students for participating and succeeding.”
Students who competed in the Milan bee initially participated in grade specific bees at Beach that were organized by teacher and Bee Coordinator Kathryn McCalla.
“There was no spelling bee last year due to COVID,” said Ceo. “The kids were excited, as were the adults, to return to some of the traditional events we’ve had over the last couple of decades. Some of our eighth-graders participated in the bee when they were sixth-graders, so it was fun to return to that memory.”
These are all the Beach students who competed at the bee in Milan:
8th Grade: Keenan Basar (Champion), Ava O’Brien, Ronan King, Henry Parker, Cameron Watson (9th place).
7th Grade: Caleb Grimm (10th place), Isaac Snyder (6th place), Kyanne Hill, Emily Schaefer, Rowan Burkel (4th place).
6th Grade: Claire Vaquera (Champion), Lillian Nielsen, Henry Kibler (4th place), Parker Westcott (7th place), Sebastian Valdina (8th place).
