It took five rounds, plus a Championship word, to crown this year’s Flagler Schools Spelling Bee winner. After he finished spelling Richter scale, Buddy Taylor Middle School 7th grader Spencer Edelstein was all smiles. He now goes on to represent the district in the 78th Annual First Coast Regional Spelling Bee in Jacksonville on April 1.

Spencer correctly spelled knife, brocade, quatrains and katabatic. But he says his 3rd round word, padre, was the most difficult. “I couldn’t hear the pronunciation clearly on the stage. When he read the origin and repeated it again, I knew exactly what it was, but I wasn’t 100% sure until then.”

Spencer’s mother, Cheryl Edelstein, says her son studied non-stop for the competition. She says he’s also planning on dual enrolling with Daytona State College next fall.

The 2022 District Spelling Bee video is available on the Flagler Schools videos page.

The following students represented their schools in this year’s District Spelling Bee: 

Name

School

Grade

Sophia Esposito

Belle Terre Elementary

5

Tiago De Oliveira

Belle Terre Elementary

6

Spencer Edelstein

Buddy Taylor Middle

7

Holly Kittrell

Buddy Taylor Middle

8

Lisset Arroyo

Bunnell Elementary

5

Gray Parkins

Bunnell Elementary

6

Jonny Harnisch

Christ the King Lutheran

5

Hannah Rimpel

Christ the King Lutheran

8

Sophia Zambrano

iFlagler Virtual

5

Tyler Peeples

Indian Trails Middle

7

Alec Riley

Indian Trails Middle

8

Lauren Rutledge

Old Kings Elementary

5

Justin Gillespie

Old Kings Elementary

6

Xavier Duque

Rymfire Elementary

5

Zenae Mills

Rymfire Elementary

6

Aubrey Marino

Wadsworth Elementary

5

Holden Carleton

Wadsworth Elementary

6