Davis Trimble, center, a fifth grader at E. Rivers Elementary School, won first-place honors in the 57th Annual Districtwide Spelling Bee. Morris Brandon’s Lily Nastopoulos placed second; and Jacarri Almond, who attends B.E.S.T. Academy, earned third-place prize.
By: Alicia Sands Lurry
With profound deliberation and mastery, E. Rivers Elementary School fifth grader Davis Trimble successfully spelled “T-R-O-I-K-A” to become first-place winner of the Atlanta Public Schools 57th Annual District Wide Spelling Bee after eight grueling rounds of competition.
“It feels good,” Davis said after being crowned champion. “I spent a lot of time studying and it really paid off.”
Held on Tuesday, Jan. 30, at Frederick Douglass High School in partnership with the Atlanta Association of Educators, this year’s spelling bee also produced two other winners:Â Morris Brandon’s Lily Nastopoulos and B.E.S.T. Academy’s Jacarri Almond, who received second and third-place honors, respectively.
Lily and Jacarri will join Davis in representing APS at the Georgia Association of Educators’ Regional Spelling Bee on Saturday, Feb. 24, at Douglass High School.
Students from more than 35 schools across the district participated in this year’s spelling bee, competing to spell a bevvy of difficult words, such as tempestuous, gargoyle, requisites, chinchilla, forsythia, peloton, camphor, diphthong, and more.
However, it wasn’t until Davis masterfully spelled the winning word, troika – which means a group of three – that a spelling bee champion was finally named.
“The spelling bee showcases some of the district’s best talent from elementary and middle schools in every cluster, and all of them are really fabulous spellers,” said Jermal Riggins, K-5 literacy coordinator for APS. “We are extremely proud of all of these outstanding students.”
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Suggestion: Here’s an idea regarding the prevention of school shootings. All kids get a Student ID card right. To enter or exit the school, have them scan their ID cards to allow entry or exit. Metal detectors at all doors with someone just inside the facility to monitor each door. We’ll call them Door Monitors. If a student has a problem with their perspective card, the Door Monitor will be there to aide them. If a student has been suspended, their ID cards are “flagged” and they are not allowed entry. The Door Monitors are notified via screen monitor of students status at their perspective door with students pictured ID. All computerized through the Main office, noting Time and Date of each occurrence. Sort of like a MARTA Card. No re-use within a 30 minute time frame. This would be simple to implement with no intrusive issues. Door Monitors can be armed or unarmed. This is at the schools/principals discretion.
Think about it, for the kids.