Parent Teacher Magazine Union County Public Schools March 2014 | Page 12

School Champions assemble for Union County Spelling Bee
What do the 1991-1993 and
1996-1998 Chicago Bulls, the
1998-2000 New York Yankees,
the 2000-2002 Los Angeles
Lakers, and Weddington Middle
Schooler Ashwin Subramaniam
have in common? They are all
three-peat Champions!
It took 23 rounds for the
eighth grader, but he did it. To
claim his third Union County
Spelling Bee Championship,
Ashwin had to correctly spell
24 words. This was his final
appearance in the third through
eighth grade competition and in
the end, it was fitting that the
last word he was asked to spell
was efficacy, a word defined
as the capacity to produce a
desired result.
39 School Champions
assembled on the stage at
Central Academy. One at a time,
they approached the microphone
and waited to hear the next word
on the list, a word that they
would be asked to spell correctly.
Often the spellers would ask for
the definition. Sometimes they
asked for the origin of the word.
Occasionally, they asked for the
word to be used in a sentence.
Three judges listened carefully to
each letter as it was called out. A
nod from the judges would send
them back to their seats as the
caller would proclaim, “correct.”
When they stumbled, they heard,
“I’m sorry, that is incorrect.”
Despite a missed word in
the County Championship, each
of the School Champions were
just that, Champions! They
represented their classmates
and their school very well as
their parents, teachers, and
principals silently cheered them
on until the end of each round
when the building need for
applause was released.
Although the three-time
county champion will retire at
the end of this school year as
he moves on to high school, the
future looks bright for spelling
in Union County. Four of the
top five spellers are still in
elementary school.
10 • March/April 2014 • Parent Teacher Magazine 

Abby Leighton from Waxhaw
Elementary, Aiden Tauro from
Marvin Elementary, Ainsley
Ogletree from Kensington
Elementary, and Royce Joseph
from Weddington Elementary
all earned spots as top five
finishers. Four school champions
are third graders with five more
years to compete.
Ashwin will now represent
UCPS at the 60th annual
Charlotte Observer Regional
Spelling Bee.
2013-2014 School Spelling
Bee Champions:
ANTIOCH ELEMENTARY
Macey McDuffie, 5th grade student
BENTON HEIGHTS ELEMENTARY
Adriana Melton, 5th grade student
CUTHBERTSON MIDDLE
Dominick DePaola III, 6th grade
student
EAST ELEMENTARY
Emalee Chavez, 4th grade student
EAST UNION MIDDLE
Tiffany Green, 7th grade student
FAIRVIEW ELEMENTARY
Ben Dulin, 4th grade student
HEMBY BRIDGE ELEMENTARY
Rachel Kivlan, 5th grade student
INDIAN TRAIL ELEMENTARY
Ryan Scallin, 4th grade student
KENSINGTON ELEMENTARY
Ainsley Ogletree, 5th grade student
MARSHVILLE ELEMENTARY
Abby Corley, 4th grade student
MARVIN ELEMENTARY
Aiden Tauro, 3rd grade student
MARVIN RIDGE MIDDLE
Daniel Haller, 8th grade student
MONROE MIDDLE
Aaliyah Williams, 6th grade student
NEW SALEM ELEMENTARY
Adam Helms, 5th grade student
NEW TOWN ELEMENTARY
Richie Miller, 5th grade student
PARKWOOD MIDDLE
Emily Eubanks, 7th grade student

Spelling Bee Champion Ashwin Subramaniam stands with
Superintendent Dr. Mary Ellis, First Runner-up Royce Joseph, and
Second Runner-up Ainsley Ogletree

PIEDMONT MIDDLE
Ethan Solomon, 6th grade student

SUN VALLEY MIDDLE
Michael Haskins, 6th grade student

POPLIN ELEMENTARY
Nithya Kondeti, 5th grade student

UNION ELEMENTARY
Hanah Bivens, 3rd grade student

PORTER RIDGE ELEMENTARY
Kelsey Janes, 3rd grade student

UNIONVILLE ELEMENTARY
Avonlea Arnette, 4th grade student

PORTER RIDGE MIDDLE
Morgan Pace, 7th grade student

WALTER BICKETT ELEMENTARY
Erin Leftwich, 4th grade student

PROSPECT ELEMENTARY
Matthew Belk 5th grade student

WAXHAW ELEMENTARY
Abby Leighton, 5th grade student

REA VIEW ELEMENTARY
Jathin Banala, 4th grade student

WEDDINGTON ELEMENTARY
Royce Joseph, 5th grade student

ROCK REST ELEMENTARY
Katelyn Walker, 5th grade student

WEDDINGTON MIDDLE
Ashwin Subramaniam, 8th grade
student

ROCKY RIVER ELEMENTARY
Claire St. Bernard, 5th grade student
SANDY RIDGE ELEMENTARY
Ryan Marr, 5th grade student
SARDIS ELEMENTA