Millburn Fifth Grader Headed To Scripps-Howard Spelling Bee

MILLBURN, NJ — Washington School fifth-grader Ananya Mandrekar has spelled her way to the Scripps National Spelling Bee, to be held this June and July.

In March of 2021, Mandrekar won the annual Washington School Spelling Bee, which qualified her to enter the Essex County Spelling Bee where students up to grade eight competed for the title.

Mandrekar won the county contest, held virtually.

She is now preparing to compete nationally. As the 2021 Essex County Spelling Bee Champion, Mandrekar will virtually compete with spelling bee champions from all over the country for a chance to travel to Orlando, Florida to compete for the Scripps Spelling Bee national championship crown.

No stranger to competition, Mandrekar is also the winner of the state DAR essay contest which she won earlier in the school year penning an award-winning essay on the Boston Massacre.

Washington School principal Peter Mercurio could not be prouder of his student’s accomplishments: “We are especially proud of Ananya, and grateful to our PTO for making our annual spelling bee a reality, even in the pandemic. We have tried to provide as much normalcy as possible for our students this year. Ananya making it to the Nationals has certainly exceeded our expectations. The whole school will be rooting for her this summer.”

All future rounds of the Scripps National Spelling Bee will be televised on ESPN.

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