2006 RCOE Report to the Community - Supporting Excellence in Education

Palm Springs Eighth Grader Wins Riverside County Spelling Bee

Palm Springs eighth grader Michael Tayag correctly spelled the word "omnilegent" to win the Riverside County Spelling Bee on March 15 in front of 150 spectators at Martin Luther King High School in Riverside.

Michael’s victory came in the 19th round of what would become one of the longest county bees in memory.

In the end, only Michael and last year’s county champion, Corona Fundamental Intermediate School seventh grader Ginny Wu, were left standing.

Ginny was tripped up by the word "halcyon." When Michael correctly spelled "hamartia," then "omnilegent," he was declared the overall winner. With that, Michael, who attends James Workman Middle School, won the right to represent Riverside County at the National Spelling Bee, June 1-2, in Washington, D.C.

The county bee then resumed to select an elementary school champion. This turned into a duel between sixth grader Bridget Benhar of Susan B. Coombs Intermediate School (Banning USD) and fifth grader Austin Pineda of Romoland Elementary School (Romoland SD).

The two battled for ten rounds before Bridget correctly spelled "stupa" and then "supernal" to win. She becomes Riverside County’s representative to the State Bee, scheduled May 14 at Sonoma State University.

For a complete list of winners, visit the web site, www.rcoe.us.



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The 2006 Report to the Community was written and prepared by the Riverside County Office of Education. It is also available as a pdf (2.6MB). Copyright ©2006 Riverside County Superintendent of Schools. 3939 Thirteenth Street, Riverside, CA 92501