Jacob Carrillo, Timur Aitbayev and Brielle Pallante placed first, second and third respectively at the district Spelling Bee on Dec.12. All three students are from Cottonwood Valley Charter School.

“We’re so proud of our spelling accomplishments here,” Lindsay Glover, ELA teacher and Spelling Bee Coordinator at CVCS, said. “We’ve worked hard to create a climate in which good spelling is valued and promoted. This is not to say that we can take credit for the remarkable gifts and diligence of our spelling champions.”

Glover shared glowing reviews of the winning students. She said that Carillo, a seventh grader, is an extraordinary scholar and budding scientist who participates on the Science Olympiad team. Abitbayev is a remarkably insightful eighth grader with gifts in history, math, and science. She said that he wants to be either President of the United States or a physicist when he grows up. She called Pallante who is a fourth-grader “wise beyond her years”, with a talent for art and writing and a bright and positive personality.

All three students will continue to the State Spelling Bee competition in the spring.

Jessica Carranza Pino, Editor