Temecula Valley USD Crowns Spelling Bee Champions

TEMECULA, CA — Hayley Foo, a 5th grader at Ysabel Barnett Elementary School, has been crowned the 2020-21 Temecula Valley Unified School District Spelling Bee Champion, and she’s eyeing her next competition.

Hayley spelled 25 out of 25 words correctly during the district’s contest, and now she moves on to the March 23 Riverside County Office of Education Spelling Bee. RCOE’s winner will then move up to compete at the state level for the chance to vie in the June Nationals.

Dessa Faith Chua, an 8th grader at Margarita Middle School, placed second in the district competition, spelling 21 out of 25 words correctly. She will serve as TVUSD’s alternate at the upcoming county event.

The district’s spelling bee competition stretched over several weeks and was held mostly virtually using the Scripps Online Platform. Students had 30 minutes to complete 25 words given audibly by typing what they believed to be the correct spelling. Scores were then collected and tallied.

“Our students love this competition, and some spend all year working with flashcards and using mock Spelling Bee programs to prepare,” said TVUSD Superintendent Jodi McClay. “It is their hobby and an excellent one at that! We will be watching and cheering on March 23rd. We are very proud of our spellers’ commitment and determination.”

Family, friends, and fans will be able to stream the upcoming online spelling test and vocabulary test live.

For their accomplishments, Hayley and Dessa will be honored at the March 2 TVUSD Governing Board meeting.