De Leon is the new GMS spelling bee champ
Seventh-grade student Rihanna De Leon emerged as the new Scripps Spelling Bee Champion of Green Meadow School after successfully spelling the word “Panuelo” during the championship round last Jan. 27, 2023, at the GMS campus.
De Leon was the last student standing on the 18th round of the competition after besting 17 students from first grade to eighth grade classes. It was a tough win for De Leon as she went head-to-head with other three top spellers who continued to correctly spell the words from 2023 Words of the Champion list (Words of the Champion was Scripps’ official source of spelling words for the competitions) for five consecutive rounds. During the 18th round, the pronouncer had drawn out a word that was not included on the official list to test De Leon’s knowledge on spelling and vocabulary words.
“Panuelo”, the 7th grader’s winning word, comes from a Spanish word meaning “a square cloth folded triangularly and worn in the Philippines like a great ruffle or collar.”
Second place went to Paula Bernardo (8th grade) who lost the champion spot after failing to spell the word “fado”, a plaintive Portuguese folk song. Isabella Mallari (7th grade) came in third place, and Rosemarie Gamelo (8th grader) was the fourth-place winner.
The Green Meadow School administrators , faculty, staff, and parents would like to congratulate all the participants during the School Spelling Bee Championship as they were all winners from their classroom spelling elimination. The following students were:
1st Grade
Liam Roi S. Buston
Nathan Angelo M. Reyes
Kira H. George
2nd Grade
Rhussel Umali
Ian Noel Escarcha
Joseph Paul Leuma
3rd Grade
Jayden Pulido
Jadynn Palacios
Jeron Marzo
4th Grade
Rayne Angela Roquelara
Geri Liam Angelo Espiritu
Albert Miguel Santos
5th Grade
Nicole Tongonan
Jamie Palabay
Jewel Mabaquiao
6th Grade
Paul Andrei Bernardo
Jacie Heart Quindoza
Savan Andrea Rithwong
7th Grade
Rihanna Grace De Leon
Isabella Marie A. Mallari
Nelisa Nicole Acaba
8th Grade
Cody Ryan Santos
Rosemarie Gamelo
Paula Angela Bernardo (PR)
