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The top 27 seventh and eighth grade spellers at Washingtonville Middle School showcased their skills at the school’s 2026 Spelling Bee, advancing through multiple rounds of increasingly challenging words, with students successfully tackling complex terms like cyclops, sentient, smoldering and translucent – to name a few!
Hosted by WMS English teacher Alexander Brown, the annual competition tested students’ vocabulary knowledge, focus and composure under pressure. Judges for the event included Principal Teresa Thompson and Assistant Principal Steven Nyarady, who helped guide each round.
By the final stage, just four standout spellers remained. In seventh grade, Samantha Bailey and Kalyn Pope went head-to-head, while Natalie Stucko and Hailey Trapnell faced off in the eighth grade round – all demonstrating impressive academic excellence in front of their peers.
In the end, seventh grader Kalyn Pope and eighth grader Hailey Trapnell emerged as this year’s grade-level champions. Kalyn secured the seventh grade title with the word artificial, while Hailey clinched the eighth grade championship with impeccable.
Reflecting on the event’s impact, Principal Thompson emphasized the lasting value of the competition.
“Vocabulary and spelling are critical lifelong skills,” she shared. “The fact that these students can come up here and compete at this level in front of their peers is really, really impressive.”
Both grade-level champions will move on to represent Washingtonville Middle School at the next level of competition.
This year’s Spelling Bee featured the following student competitors:
Nadia Mohanna
Hensley LaFague
Malachi Gaines
Justin Colon Polanco
Harmony Brownlee
Eugene Noh
Ayla Clarke
Ira Yarlagadda
Isabella Govia
Samantha Bailey
Daniel Wolfe
Kalyn Pope
Landon Do
Lylah Marte
Logan Aponte
Cianne Liston
Matthew Pena
Brenda Chavez
Caitlyn Diaz
Cameron Sansone
Natalie Stucko
Karter Williams
Judah Brown
Ellie D’Esposito
Mia’Lynn Erickson
Candace Mensah
Hailey Trapnell
