Peyton Turner wins spelling bee
Published 6:00 am Friday, March 26, 2021
Peyton Turner, a sixth-grade student at Cumberland Middle School, won the Cumberland County Public Schools Spelling Bee held February 11.
Turner is the daughter of Jennifer and Michael Turner of Cumberland. She competed against other grade-level winners from grades 1-8 and successfully spelled “pedestrian” to win in the 23rd round. The runner-up was Emily Eroh, daughter of Jeri and Ronnie Eroh. Grade level winners and runners-up are as follows:
FIRST GRADE
Winners: Lucas Ramsey and Aubrey Reny
Runners-up: Leland Mayes and Hiba Qureshi
SECOND GRADE
Winners: Zy’Renae Allen and Richard Greyson Peterson
Runners-up: Sophia Lopez and Savannah Redford
THIRD GRADE
Winners: Aurian Bolden and Steven Long
Runner-up: Adelynn Bristol
FOURTH GRADE
Winners: Alexa “Lexi” Blackwell and Nikki Brandt
Runner-up: Robby Heath
FIFTH GRADE
Winner: Karlee Capps
Runner-up: Iziah Brown
SIXTH GRADE
Winners: David Sullivan Jr., and Peyton Turner
Runners-up: Kamira Holman and Miah Richard
SEVENTH GRADE
Winner: Kody Kohnen
Runner-up: Cassandra Reny
EIGHTH GRADE
Winner: Emily Eroh
Runner-up: Steven Mullins Jr.
The spelling bee took place in the Cumberland High School/Cumberland Middle School Cafetorium. Daryn Woodson-Trent, a CES student, welcomed participants and guests to the event. Scott Gordon, a CMS/CHS teacher, called the spelling words. After the spelling bee, a reception was held for participants.
District winners receive a one-year subscription to Britannica Online for Kids, courtesy of Scripp’s National Spelling Bee and the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
Turner advanced to the regional spelling bee. This year, due to COVID-19, the traditional in-person regional spelling bee was replaced with a two-part virtual program. In Part 1, students competed via the Scripps online testing platform with both spelling and vocabulary, with a 45-minute time limit to complete the test. In Part 2, the students with the five highest scores competed via a private Zoom link to determine the finalist, who would compete in the National Spelling Bee.