River Dell Middle School Student Competes in National Spelling Bee

Indrani Das, an Oradell resident and eighth-grader from River Dell Middle School who made it to the Scripps National Spelling Bee, was eliminated after successfully completing the second and third rounds, Assistant Principal Michael Giorgio told Patch. 

After reaching the final seven competitors in 2012 at the North Jersey Spelling Bee competition, Das claimed the title of North Jersey's top speller in March, advancing her to the nationals. 

Indrani spelled all but four words correctly, but did not score enough points to push her into one of the the top 41 spots for Thursday's semifinals. School officials said that Indrani was just two points shy of reaching the semifinals.

"She needed 32 points to advance to the semi-finals and she just missed it by two points," Giorgio said. "She was so close."

In addition to being an outstanding speller, Giorio said that Indrani is one of the school's best trumpet players. 

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