Mabutin Wins Spelling Bee
Submission
Date: January 23, 2015
Release
Date: For Immediate Release
Contact: J.D. Hardin, 770-957-6601 ext. 161, john.hardin@henry.k12.ga.us
(Release
# 0037-01-15)
Mabutin Prevails as Henry County Schools’
Spelling Bee Champ
Third time is a
charm after back to back runner-up finishes
HENRY COUNTY,
GA – In her last chance to secure the district crown before her spelling bee
career ended, Kathleen Mabutin, an 8th grade student from Locust
Grove Middle School, finally prevailed as the Henry County Schools Spelling Bee
Champion. It took 28 rounds this year to crown the winner.
Mabutin
bested last year’s winner, Logan Witham from Union Grove Middle School, after
spelling ‘paradox’ and ‘angst’ consecutively for the district honor. In order to win the spelling bee, the top
speller must correctly spell two words in a row. This was Mabutin’s fourth time to finish in
the top three; she had two runner-up finishes in the previous two years. You could say she saved her best performance
for her last attempt.
In addition
to Mabutin finishing in 1st place and Logan Witham finishing in 2nd
place, Luella Middle School student Anne Ocampo finished in 3rd
place. Another recognition granted this
year went to the highest finishing elementary student in the competition. Aliyah Persaud of Woodland Elementary took
home this honor.
All three finalists
will move on to the next competition for Region 5 at Sequoyah Middle School in Riverdale
on Saturday, February 28. Students from nearby Clayton, Coweta, Fayette,
Griffin-Spalding, and Rockdale counties will also be competing for the chance
to move on to the state competition which will be held at Georgia State University
on Friday, March 20. Mabutin has
participated in the state spelling bee the previous two years.
For their
efforts locally, the three finalists received mementos of their
accomplishments, including cash prizes from area sponsors.
For more
information on the state spelling bee competition and organization, visit the
Georgia Association of Educators’ website at www.gae.org.
For more information on Henry County Schools, visit www.henry.k12.ga.us.
###
Photo:
IMG_3456 – HCS Spelling Bee Finalists (Front Row, l-r): Logan Witham, Union
Grove MS; Winner Kathleen Mabutin, Locust Grove MS; Anne Ocampo, Luella MS.
Photo:
IMG_3432 – Spelling Bee Winner Kathleen Mabutin participates in one of the
early rounds of the district spelling bee competition.