Camden Central School District -

The spotlight was on Camden Middle School’s strongest spellers on Wednesday, January 28th. As an enthusiastic crowd of friends, family, and more looked on, 45 students took the stage to compete in the 12th annual Camden Middle School Scripps Spelling Bee in the school’s auditorium.

The Bee represents the local round of a larger nationwide competition that has been held for over 100 years, with over 10 million American children putting their best foot forward annually to compete for top honors in class, at school, or perhaps in Washington, DC at the national finals. The most recent Camden student to go to Washington was 2025 graduate Hannah Cere, who competed at the top level in 2019.

At Camden, a student’s journey begins with a classroom spelling bee held in their ELA class. The top two performers in each classroom were invited to Wednesday’s school-wide bee to showcase their skills to their school and community, and delivered yet another classic competition. All four grade levels at CMS were represented.

The format is simple - receive a word to spell from a pre-approved list, ask any needed questions to understand its context, and make an attempt. If you spell it correctly, you move on to the next round. An incorrect response is met with elimination until the final two, which is conducted under an “Odd man out” format where one of the two participants must be correct to end the competition.

Among the 45 contestants, all four grade levels showed their mettle. Grades 5-8 continued to be represented into the fifth round, before the field was trimmed to just four spellers across two grade levels. The final four included eighth grade students Christopher Scott, Elliot Dust, and Zachary Spies, along with fifth grade student Bobby Wilson.

Dust and Wilson exited simultaneously to finish in a tie for third place, leaving Scott and Spies to go for the gold. The competition was settled in the eleventh round when Scott polished off the winning word “Scalpel” to claim the title. With his win, Scott has the opportunity to participate in an at-large regional qualifier if he elects to do so.

While only one student could claim the crown, each competitor displayed top-notch sportsmanship, and the spectators were also up to the task in ensuring a positive and enjoyable competition environment.

This initiative is hosted by the CMS ELA/Reading Department with support from Title I.