GES’ Maria Enriquez is NMI’s top speller

From left: Mary Joy Viloria (third place), Maria Enriquez (first place), and Walter Josh N. Clave (second place). (PSS)

After 20 rounds, Maria Enriquez of Garapan Elementary School took home the top honors in the 2022 CNMI Public School System’s State Level Spelling Bee.

Hopwood Middle School’s Walter Josh N. Clave of Hopwood Middle School was in second place and Dandan Middle School’s Mary Joy Viloria placed third.

All top three winners—as well as school-level spelling bee winners—are eligible to compete in the regional spelling bee scheduled on March 12 in Guam.

The CNMI-wide competition is sponsored by the school district. This year’s edition was held at Kensington Hotel Saipan last Saturday. There were no competitions in 2020 and 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The benefits of spelling bees extend beyond language: Since students are required to spell words while on stage, they also develop self-confidence, communication and public speaking skills, and the ability to thrive under pressure,” said Education Commissioner Dr. Alfred B. Ada. “I am so glad that we are finally getting back to some sense of normalcy after two years.”

For three rounds, four students from Garapan Elementary School, Dandan Middle School, Francisco M. Sablan Middle School, and Hopwood Middle School kept spelling all the words correctly. By round 12th, Preciouz Kenzie B. Lontoc of Francisco M. Sablan Middle School earned fourth place in the competition. For the next seven rounds, three students vied for championship trophy.

The 2022 CNMI PSS State Level Spelling Bee hosted 13 elementary and middle public schools from Saipan, Tinian, and Rota.

The following are the school-level winners and runners up that competed in the last Saturday’s state-level competition:

1. GES school champion: Maria Enriquez

2. GES runner up: Aliyana Garcia

3. KAG school champion: Aubrey Taitano

4. KAG runner up: Jamie Pereira

5. KES school champion: Phil William L. Lumactod

6. KES runner up: Merleen Tamerang

7. OES school champion: Isabel Maximina Carreon

8. OES runner up: Chloe Rivera

9. SVS school champion: Mitsue Borja

10. SVS runner up: Kyrie Palec

11. SNP school champion: Kamea Blas

12. SNP runner up: J’Ana Hocog

13. TIN school champion: Nusrat J. Syed

14. TIN runner up: Christofe Donald Patio

15. WSR school champion: Clodia Merjilla

16. WSR runner up: Israt Jahan Jannat

17. DMS school champion: Mary Joy Viloria

18. DMS runner up: Genelyn Lansangan

19. FMS school champion: Preciouz Kenzie B. Lontoc 

20. FMS runner up: Amber Faith Reyes Guevarra 

21. HMS school champion: Walter Josh N. Clave

22. HMS runner up: Aryan Sheikh

23. TMS school champion: J’Dean Leilisheng Calvo

24. TMS runner up: Ry’ahna Quitan

25. TJSHS school champion: Juris Gian G. Cabarles

26. TJSHS runner up: Jenard Ivahn A. Nuyda

Giselle Butalid from the Office of Curriculum and Instruction gave the welcoming remarks and recognized the community’s tremendous support for this year’s event. She extended appreciation to sponsors and donors of the spelling bee: Lollipops’ $50 gift certificates, Gentle Brook Cafe and Shirley’s Coffee Shop, Kensington Hotel Saipan for pool passes, Monster Pizza, AC Pacific LLC dba I Love Saipan, One Legacy LLC, and NMI Museum of History and Culture.

All student competitors also received monetary donations from Saipan Marianas Corp.

The competition’s pronouncer, Vinni Orsini, PSS’ Social Studies Program manager,was “amazed at the talent of the students.”

“I’m sure in the future, they will become walking dictionaries for our community,” he said.

The judges were Jaclyn Rose Quitugua of the Office of Curriculum and Instruction, Lorraine Catienza from the Office of Instructional Technology and Distance Education, and Loremel Hocog of Kagman High School. (PR)