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Laura Balderrama and Isabel Verda won second and first place in the diocesan Spanish spelling bee.

Remember Jennica Dumond, the St. Thomas the Apostle eighth grader who won the diocesan spelling bee two years in a row?  She apparently set a trend for girls to excel in diocesan spelling bees.

At least a dozen of the 18 students who competed in the 13th annual Diocesan Spanish Spelling Bee at St. Mary-Basha School in Chandler last week were girls.

The top winners:

• Madeline Baker from Our Lady of Mt. Carmel School in Tempe and Hailey Barrell, a Ss. Simon and Jude student in the K-4th grade category.
• Isabel Verda from Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish in Scottsdale and Laura Balderrama, a Ss. Simon and Jude student in the 5th-8th grade category.

Some other tidbits about the bee, courtesy of Alicia Flores, Spanish teacher and Molly Hester, Spanish Aide at St. Mary-Basha:

Last word spelled for the win:

• K-4th grade — bolígrafo which means ballpoint pen
• 5th-8th grade — cuervo which means crow

Participating Spanish teachers provide the words from their curriculum. Some are found in Spanish prayers such as santificado, siglo and credo.  Many words also include accent marks such as miércoles (Wednesday) which always present more of a challenge.

Participants came from 11 schools around the diocese.

Hailey Barrell and Madeline Baker won second and first place in the K-4th grade competition of the Diocesan Spanish Spelling Bee.

K-4th grade competitors were:

• Madeline Baker - Our Lady of Mt. Carmel in Tempe
• Rose Salinas – Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Glendale
• Alvaro Verda – Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Scottsdale
• Ivana de la Rocha – St. John Bosco
• Julia Jacoby – St. Mary-Basha in Chandler
• Emma Anthony – St. Theresa
• Jordan Myer – St. Thomas Aquinas in Avondale
• Susan Peters – St. Thomas the Apostle
• Natalie Garrett – St. Timothy
• Hailey Barrell – Ss. Simon and Jude

5th-8th grade competitors were:

• George Porras – Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Glendale
• Isabel Verda – Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Scottsdale
• Brendan Sarotte – St. Mary-Basha in Chandler
• Michael Kempton – St. Theresa School
• Kaitlyn Krushinsky – St. Thomas Aquinas in Avondale
• Christopher Lembo – St. Thomas the Apostle
• Kelsey Moron – St. Timothy in Mesa
• Laura Balderrama – Ss. Simon and Jude