Cape elementaries crown spelling bee champions

Three Cape Henlopen elementary schools recently held spelling bees.

At Richard A. Shields Elementary School, fifth-graders vied for the title of top speller. Winners in each class competed against each other in front of the entire fifth-grade class. The final two spellers were Jackson Wood and Ava Simeone. Jackson won the bee with the word "antiquated."

Meanwhile at Rehoboth Elementary School, top spellers in both fourth and fifth grades vied for the spelling prize. Fourth-grader Sawyer Brockstedt won with the word "varsity." Fifth-grader Eddie Houck was the runner-up and will be representing Rehoboth in the state spelling bee because Sawyer is unable to attend.

At Milton Elementary School, the contests continued, and Jacob Childress scored top billing with the word "contract."

The winning words were only a few of the difficult words that faced the spelling bee contestants. Words like "veracity," "digital," "thoughtful" and "rehearse" were tough words the students had to spell correctly.

The winners will be representing Cape Henlopen School District in the state spelling bee at St. Mark's High School in March.