Sachi Askew of Pepperell Middle School wins Spelling Bee

Media release: Sachi Askew, an eighth grader at Pepperell Middle School, was the top speller in the Floyd County School system's annual Spelling Bee, held on Friday, February 10, 2012, at 9:00 a.m. at the Floyd County Board of Education office on Riverside Parkway . This is the second consecutive year that a student from Pepperell Middle School has taken home the system spelling title.  Askew and 10 other individual school spelling champions, from schools with grades 4-8, participated in the Floyd County Schools Spelling Bee. Clair Hill, an eighth-grade student from Armuchee Middle School, was the runner-up in the competition.  Hill was the 2010 Spelling champion for Floyd County Schools when she was a sixth-grader.  

The two finalists moved quickly and confidently through several rounds in the finals before Hill stumbled with the word "philosophize."  Askew spelled that word correctly and then confidently spelled the next word, "carnage", to take the spelling title.  Spellers are required to correctly spell two words in a row to win the competition.

Askew said that she did not put in a lot of study time to get ready to compete in the academic spell-off but she did say that she was an avid reader.  "I like to read mystery novels and books with suspense," she said.  Askew commented that she may change her strategy for the next level of competition.  She said, "I think that I will put in some extra study time for the District Spelling Bee."  

For her first place finish, Sachi Askew received a plaque and certificate recognizing her accomplishment.  The eighth-grader will represent Floyd County Schools in the District Spelling Bee on Saturday, February 25 at the Floyd County Board of Education office. Clair Hill will serve as an alternate at District.  The District Spelling Bee will begin at 10:00 a.m. and will feature the top spellers in the Northwest Georgia area.

School spelling champions participating in the Floyd County Spelling Bee were:

Alto Park Elementary, Charlie Mendez; Armuchee Elementary, Caroline Abney;  Armuchee Middle, Clair Hill; Cave Spring Elementary, Zac Mitchell; Coosa Middle, Val Browning; Garden Lakes Elementary, Aggie Mayberry; Johnson Elementary, Liam Knowles; Model Elementary, Ty Brock; Model Middle, Cameron Bohannon; Pepperell Elementary, Rayanna Shaw; Pepperell Middle, Sachi Askew.