Charlotte Fodera, an eighth grader at WJPS, won first place in the fourth annual WJPS spelling bee on November 13th.

Fodera said, “I’m really happy; it’s my second time. I hope I get past the district [bee] this year.”

Fodera previously participated in her elementary school spelling bee, where she made it to the third round.

The event was hosted by spelling bee advisor and WJPS teacher Ms. Szabo.

Ms. Szabo explained the spelling bee is organized into five rounds: the first round is the classroom bee, the second is the school bee, the third is the district bee, the fourth is the regional bee, and the final round is the Scripps National Spelling Bee.

Last year, the final word for the national spelling bee was “éclaircissement”, meaning clearing up something obscure.

Fodera said, “I expected it to be harder” in reference to the second round. Now, she will go on to represent WJPS in the third round, the district bee.