8th grader wins county spelling bee

By Brooklyn Steinert

School Life Editor

On February 3rd, 8th grader Andrew Tkach won the Madison County Spelling Bee.

Andrew became the champion in the 13th round of the competition.

While the Kiwanis Club of Huntsville will recognize him and the runner-ups on February 16th, let’s look back at how he won.

First, Andrew had to win the school level competition.

At Liberty, Library Media Specialist Kate Singley coordinates the contest.

Singley said anyone can participate. All students have to do is sign up.

The format for competing does change, though.

“This year, the spelling bee was done in a written format,” Singley said. “At the end, I scored all the tests and the student with the most questions correct was declared the winner of the bee.”

Andrew said he used the app Word Club to help him prepare.

With Andrew winning, he was able to compete against several other Madison County students.

His win allows him to move on to compete at the Alabama Spelling Bee, with the Scripps National Spelling Bee being the final level.

However, Andrew said that his win was “bittersweet.”

“It’s nice that I won, but it’s disappointing,” he said. “I can’t go to the state spelling bee since it’s during spring break. The runner-up will go instead.”

Singley recommends all interested students keep their eye open for the next competition season.