Schools

Mill Creek Middle School Student Claims County Spelling Bee Title

Eighth grader Joli Palmquist correctly spelled "ascension" and "importunate" to claim the title as the county's top speller.

Press release from CCSD:

Jan. 25, 2023

Mill Creek Middle School eighth-grader Joli Palmquist correctly spelled “ascension” and then “importunate” to claim the title as the county’s top speller at the 2023 Cherokee County School District Spelling Bee Wednesday night at Cherokee High School. Rohan Pandya of ET Booth MS captured second, and Charli Wallace of Creekland MS placed third.

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Thirty Cherokee County students from grades 4-8 put their spelling skills to the test in the annual competition, which went 15 rounds over 90 minutes with over 200 words before a winner was decided. Spellers tackled tricky terms like "indefatigable," "quittance" and "zoolatry."

All three students will advance to the regional Georgia Association of Educators (GAE) bee, which will be held next month. State winners advance to the Scripps National Spelling Bee held in Washington, DC in June.

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The county spelling bee is sponsored each year by Cherokee County Association of Educators and the Georgia Association of Educators. Bekki Couch is the GAE Spelling Bee Coordinator; Dr. John Carter of Teasley MS served as caller of the words. Judges included Tiffany Robbins, Bekki Couch and Jennifer Campbell.

School level winners were:

Arnold Mill Elementary

  • Mason Kuhn

Avery Elementary

  • Dylan Decker

Ball Ground STEM Academy

  • Cameron Curry

Bascomb Elementary

  • Vivian Rivera

Boston Elementary

  • Ethan Keodouangdy

Carmel Elementary

  • Isaac McLemore

Clark Creek STEM Academy

  • Miller Inthirathvongsy

Clayton Elementary

  • Mitchell Lard

Creekland Middle

  • Charli Wallace

Dean Rusk Middle

  • Dahl Roth

E.T. Booth Middle

  • Rohan Pandya

Free Home Elementary

  • Hudson Wyatt

Freedom Middle

  • Logan Johnson

Hasty Fine Arts Academy

  • Tristan Castillejos

Hickory Flat Elementary

  • Julianna Twitchell

Holly Springs STEM Academy

  • Gracelyn Chettiar

Indian Knoll Elementary

  • Taylor Baker

Johnston Elementary

  • Caroline Tietz

Knox STEM Academy

  • Bennett McGovern

Liberty Elementary

  • Etienne McNeil

Little River Elementary

  • Fiona Martinez

Macedonia Elementary

  • Alice Feng

Mill Creek Middle

  • Joli Palmquist

Mountain Road Elementary

  • Evelyn Higginbotham

Oak Grove STEAM Academy

  • Tara Fowler

R.M. Moore STEM Academy

  • Kenzie Jones

Sixes Elementary

  • Hailey Holton

Teasley Middle

  • Cole Mizelle

Woodstock Elementary

  • Nathan Nguyen

Woodstock Middle

  • Charlie Lamar

This press release was produced by CCSD. The views expressed here are the author's own.