Welches seventh grade student Savannah DeMicoli sat on the stage in the Welches Elementary multipurpose room next to two of her friends during an all- school spelling bee on Friday, Feb. 14.

Her friends said they were surprised she won the spelling bee in her class to make it to the school competition, but that it would be “kind of cool” to see her win.

“I’m the crazy kind of girl and nobody thinks I’m smart,” DeMicoli, 13, said.
But that might change after DeMicoli correctly spelled the word “perceived”
and won the school’s inaugural spelling bee.

“I was nauseous all morning; I didn’t really want to do the spelling bee,”
DeMicoli said. “I’m not good in front of people.”

DeMicoli noted that the final word was not the toughest for her, as she
stumbled with “detective” earlier in the competition. Fifth grader Madison
Bowling, 10, was the runner-up, bowing out after she incorrectly spelled
“perceived” with the “i” before the “e.”

“I never practiced that word before; when I got up there I was like, ‘oh gosh,
what comes next,’” Bowling said, adding, “I feel great. I’m pretty sure my
dad’s really proud of me.”

The competition featured 19 students from all grades of Welches Elementary
and Middle Schools. Students were given a list of words that would appear in
the spelling bee prior to the competition so they could practice.

The Oregon Trail School District’s Talented and Gifted program sponsored the
spelling bee and Principal Kendra Payne hopes to make it an annual event.
“I think they did wonderfully,” Payne said. “I loved having all the grade levels
compete against each other. I think it kind of upped the ante and the pressure
for some of them, but it also really showcased our students.”

As the school’s winner, DeMicoli will now participate in this spring’s Scripp’s
competition in Portland, with a chance to head to the national spelling bee in
Washington, D.C.

“I think I’ll be so much more nervous that day and just freak out,” she said.