CARROLLTON, GA –  Seven exceptional spellers will represent Carrollton Upper Elementary School at the Carrollton City Schools district spelling bee where they will compete with seventh and eighth grade winners in February. To ensure proper social distancing, the three separate contests held Wednesday were recorded live so proud relatives and spelling aficionados could watch the drama unfold remotely on YouTube.

Winners and runners-up were chosen for each grade level – fourth, fifth, and sixth grade – and will compete with Carrollton Junior High seventh and eighth grade spellers in the school system bee when the district winner will be crowned.

Grey Jackson won the fourth grade bee with Quinn Caubo named as runner-up. In fifth grade, West Yancey captured the grade title, followed by Maddie Henderson as runner-up. In sixth, Megan Ou was named champ while the runner-up contest resulted in a tie between Damaya Irizarry and Hoyt Herman. The grade champions and runners-up all will compete in the district meet.

Because of COVID-19 concerns, only a few parents and other adults were in attendance. Everyone, including the contestants, were required to wear masks, but the spellers were asked to pull down their masks as they spelled their words. Cindy Lamb, spelling bee sponsor at CUES, disinfected the microphone with sanitizing wipes between contestants .

While the masks were intended to be a safety protocol, they also came in handy for at least one contestant who was spied pushing his mask over his eyes to hide disappointment when he lost a round.

To watch a recording of the three events, follow these links:

FOURTH GRADE: https://youtu.be/OselJg3JNps 

FIFTH GRADE: https://youtu.be/Gkilt-YznoI 

SIXTH GRADE: https://youtu.be/EKdCA9xLEpM