The top five spelling students from Yellowstone County are headed to the Treasure State Spelling Bee in Bozeman. Debbie Nixon, Shepherd Schools; Avree Bickford, Lewis & Clark Middle School; Jensen Fellman, Grace Montessori Academy; Kristopher Brewer, Shepherd Schools; and Connor Parsons, Lewis & Clark Middle Schools, will compete at the state competition at the Strand Student Union Building at MSU-Bozeman on March 21 at 1pm. According to the Yellowstone County Spelling Bee Director Amber McDermott, competition was fierce amongst the top two spellers with Nixon and Bickford facing off in eight spell-off rounds to determine the champion.
According to McDermott, twenty-seven schools in Yellowstone County held their own local spelling bees and ultimately sent a total of 52 students to the County Bee to compete.
The top eight spellers were: First Place, Debbie Nixon, a 6th grader from Shepherd Schools; Second Place, Avree Bickford, a 7th grader from Lewis & Clark Middle School; Third Place, Jensen Fellman, a 5th grader from Grace Montessori Academy; Fourth Place, Kristopher Brewer, a 7th grader from Shepherd Schools; Fifth Place, Connor Parsons, a 7th grader from Lewis & Clark Middle School; Sixth Place, Elizabeth Saunders, a 7thgrader from Eileen Johnson Middle School; Seventh Place, Carmen Gross, a 7th grader from Huntley Project Schools; and Eighth Place, Lauren Martin, a 7th grader from Laurel Middle School.
This is the second year that McDermott has served as the director of the Yellowstone County Spelling Bee (YCSB), taking over the position from Julia Lillethun who held the position for 27 years. According to McDermott, Lillethun often spent her own money to provide the students with an exciting and supportive competition. According to McDermott, the number of schools participating in the YCSB has declined over the years with some schools being unable to provide stipends to middle and elementary school teachers who volunteer to organize the school bees. It is because of these reasons that McDermott stated that she has begun the process of applying for nonprofit status for the YCSB to provide further financial support to the event, hoping to fundraise in the community to help pay national registration fees and teacher stipends for Yellowstone County Schools.
