Students earn spot in regional spelling bee

Students from all over Kootenai County were brushing up on their phonics and making good use of their dictionaries the past few weeks. Now a select few will continue on to the regional spelling bee at North Idaho College on March 10.

A total of 55 fourth- through eighth-graders from the five northern counties of Idaho will participate in the fourth annual bee, the winner of which will receive an all-expense paid trip to Washington, D.C., to participate in the 80th annual Scripps National Spelling Bee May 30 and 31.

The Kootenai County winners are:

In the home-schooling competition, Madison Inouye, fourth grade; LeeAnne Bixler, fifth grade; Jeffery Meads, sixth grade; Gabriel Cheeley, seventh grade; Sara Pinkerton, eighth grade.

In the Coeur d’Alene district competition, Stephanie Wright, fourth grade, Skyway Elementary; Elena Johnson, fifth grade, Atlas Elementary; Easton Townsend, sixth grade, Woodland Middle; Jamie Wright, seventh grade, Woodland Middle; Kenzie Miller, eighth grade, Canfield Middle.

In the Post Falls district, Danielle Collinson, fourth grade, Prairie View Elementary; Braden Davenport, fifth grade, Prairie View Elementary.

In the Idaho Virtual Academy’s competition, Allie Broaddus of Kingston, fourth grade; Isaiah Sovereign of Post Falls, fifth grade; Seth Johnson of Bonners Ferry, sixth grade; Caleb Ratelle of Hayden, seventh grade; Caraline Fischer of Bonners Ferry, eighth grade.

In the private school competition, Dillon Dunteman, Holy Family Catholic School, fourth grade; Peyton Bowen, Lakes Bible Academy, fifth grade; Ara Fromm, Coeur d’Alene Christian School, sixth grade; Emma Hancock, Silver Valley Christian Academy, seventh grade; Jennifer Kiesewetter, Holy Family Catholic School, eighth grade.

In the Kootenai School District, Grace McInturff, Harrison Elementary, third grade; Zachary Bailey, Harrison Elementary, fourth grade; Tanner Dodson, Harrison Elementary, fifth grade; Olivia Kincheloe, Harrison Elementary, sixth grade; Kyler Stuart, Kootenai Jr/Sr High, seventh grade; Hayden Kraack, Kootenai Jr/Sr High, eighth grade.

In the Lakeland district, Amanda Starr, Spirit Lake Elementary, fourth grade; Nate Kimball, Betty Kiefer Elementary, fifth grade; Cameron Busch, Betty Kiefer Elementary, sixth grade; Brennan Putnam, Lakeland Junior High, seventh grade; Gaige Grey, Lakeland Junior High, eighth grade.

Grants given

Two Coeur d’Alene elementary schools received grants from Kootenai Electric.

Bryan Elementary received $639 for a research-based program to be used with autistic children, and Fernan Elementary received $319 to purchase CD players for the school’s CD story collection. First-grade teacher Teri Burch, who applied for the grant, said the money is a nice boost to the school’s efforts to upgrade the hallway listening library.

“I love how Kootenai Electric set up this program,” Burch said. As a Kootenai Electric customer, Burch actually contributes to the grant program by rounding up her bill.

Awards given

Two teachers at Rathdrum’s Mountain View Alternative High School will attend the Northwest Council for Computer Education’s conference in Spokane this year thanks to grants they received last week from the Northwest Professional Educators organization.

Dawn Mackesy and Mark Gorton, both members of the organization, each got $320 to pay for the conference, which runs March 6 through 9 at the Spokane Convention Center.

“The Northwest Professional Educators grant will enhance my ability to make classes more relevant to students’ lives while challenging their creativity,” Gorton said in a news release from the NWPE.

“Attendance at the conference will greatly benefit both the students and staff at Mountain View Alternative High school,” added Mackesy.

Northwest Professional Educators is a nonprofit, nonunion, professional educators’ organization that awards teacher scholarships and classroom mini grants twice a year. All educators are eligible for the awards, although NWPE members receive preference. The next application deadline is March 31. Visit nwpe.org for more information.