West Haven Student Finishes In Top 20 At CT Spelling Bee

WEST HAVEN, CT — A West Haven middle school student finished in the top 20 at the Connecticut Spelling Bee in West Hartford on Sunday.

Daniel Stewart of Harry M. Bailey Middle School finished in a tie for 19th place.

Hayden Hughes, a seventh-grade student from Newtown, finished first among the 46 students from across the state to become the 2024 Connecticut Spelling Champion.

Hayden will represent Connecticut at the 2024 Scripps National Spelling Bee.

Read more from the news release below:

Hayden took to the microphone 14 times during the 2024 Connecticut Spelling Bee. She tackled words like “berceuse” and “chalcolithic” before correctly spelling her winning word, “dropsical.”

Hayden will represent Connecticut at the Scripps National Spelling Bee May 26 through May 31, 2024, at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in Port Washington, Maryland.

Shamith-Kumar Kakkaragolla-Siddesh (Illing Middle School) earned 46th place.

Fourteen students tied for 32nd place: Cecilia Abrantes (Academy For International Studies), Thomas Kokus (Center Elementary School), Marco Grancelli (Glenville Elementary School), Aashutosh Sahu (Great Plain Elementary School), Cesar Guevara (High Horizons Magnet School), Ewurama Obuobi (Jumoke Academy), Gabriella Galluzzo (Middlesex Middle School), Akeem Samms (Milner Middle School), Akane Gurusinghe (Pembroke Elementary School), Shravan Madhavan (Sandy Hook Elementary School), Charles Anderson (Seymour Middle School), Mateya D'Alesandro (Spencer School), Evan Beierly (Thomaston Center School), and Adrian Zabala Chinchilima (Westbrook Middle School)

Thirteen students tied for 19th place: Hilary Boris (Andover Elementary School), Armela Peraj (Bungay Elementary School), Grace Trusilo (East Lyme Middle School), Riley Murch (Fields Memorial School), Daniel Stewart (Harry M. Bailey Middle School), Augustine Keirans (Interdistrict Discovery Magnet School), Thomas Diaz (Multicultural Magnet School), Emma Glaza (North Stonington Elementary School), Rivka Wilhelm (Southern Connecticut Hebrew Academy), Sienna Ring (Thompson Middle School), Lily Artruc (Torrington Middle School), Benjamin Sorrell (Totoket Valley Elementary School), and Kathrene Kumar (Seven Acres Montessori School).

Five students tied for 14th place: Shealyn Stephenson (Charles H. Barrows Stem Academy), Nathan Rimkie (Northwestern Regional Middle School), Lincoln Schuldt (Pearson Middle School), Andrew Settevendemie (Somers Elementary School), and Astrid Moquete-Blomstrom (Strawberry Hill Intl. School).

Five students tied for 9th place: Rebecca Smolarz (Cloonan School), Roshan Kumar (CREC Acad. of Aerospace and Engineering), Avery Guild (East Hampton Middle School), Esan Saunders (Renzulli Academy), and Hannah Zimmerman (The Gilbert School).

After each correctly spelled five words on stage, five students tied for 4th place: Eliza McClure (Bristow Middle School), Caleb Zerom (Daniels Farm School), Annabel Lau (Helen Keller Middle School), Evelyn Greenwalt (Sedgwick Middle School), and Zahaak Kha (Vernon Center Middle School).

In the 10th round, Nathan Settevendemie (Mabelle B. Avery Middle School) earned 3rd place. In the 13th round, Ethan Zimmer (King Philip Middle School) earned 2nd place.

Hayden Hughes (Hughes Homeschool), a veteran Connecticut Spelling Bee competitor, earned 1st place in the 14th round. When asked how it felt to be the 2024 Connecticut Spelling Bee Champion, Hayden stated, "I am thrilled to be the CT Champion! I had a great experience at the Bee, and look forward to representing Connecticut at Nationals!"

Dr. William Dolan, Official Pronouncer of The Connecticut Spelling Bee, led the spellers through the 2024 competition. Dr. Dolan competed in the 1989, 1990, and 1991 Scripps National Spelling Bees, placing 5th in 1990, and served on the staff for 10 National Bees. Judges were Dr. Sharon Ware and Jeremy Bond. Dr. Ware is Assistant Professor of Special Education at the University of Saint Joseph and Director of the Literacy Internship program. A life-long spelling bee-enthusiast, Mr. Bond has been a staple of the CT Spelling Program for years.

"The Noah Webster House is honored to present the Connecticut Spelling Bee each year, and this year's competition certainly did not disappoint,” said Jeffrey Mainville, Executive Director of The Noah Webster House & West Hartford Historical Society. “These students represent the most talented spellers from across our state, and it was truly inspiring to witness how hard they've all worked to get here. Thank you to the officials who volunteered their time once again, and the families for supporting their spellers...we are proud of them all. We will be rooting for Hayden in May at the National Spelling Bee!”

Congratulations to each of the 10,000+ students across the state that participated in the spelling bee program this year! Thank you to each parent, guardian, and educator for guiding their champions through the study process.

The 7th-annual Connecticut Spelling Bee was presented by the Noah Webster House & West Hartford Historical Society who is proud to support the cost of Hayden attending Bee Week in Maryland. They would also like to thank event host University of Saint Joseph.