Spelling Bee Buzz

Last Thursday, more than 200 Santa Barbara County students participated in the annual spelling bee. Six students went home with trophies for their exemplary spelling abilities, and the top two winners from each division, elementary and junior high, will go on to the state championships. 

The competition, a county staple for more than 20 years, was led by spell master Joseph Velasco, an English teacher at Santa Barbara High School. He announced some tough words, including “chauffeur,” which cleared out more than three quarters of the elementary students. The winning words were “effervescent” (junior high) and “wretchedness” (elementary).