Dillon Galarza takes first place in Scripps National Spelling Bee.

For the first time in Sespe school history, there was a three-way tie for the annual Scripps National Spelling Bee competition. Twelve students were vying for the championship this year. The competitors consisted of Fifth Graders Anthony Cardoza, Emily Garnica, Sereth Malagone, Lu pita Perez, and Serena Rivas. The Fourth Grade competitors were Viviana Ceja, Brenda Delgado, Dillon Galarza, Emma Godfrey, Alana Juarez, Gerardo Sandoval, and Leighanne Thompson.

The Spelling Bee was open to all fourth and fifth graders, but in order to be a contestant, a student needed to pass a written spelling test with a score of 80% or better.
Once the test was over, fourteen of about fifty students remained but two of them needed to opt out, leaving twelve.

The remaining twelve contestants were each issued a Merriam-Webster 2009 “Spell It!“ book containing the official spelling bee words. The book contains fourteen word lists from Eponyms (words based on a person’s or character’s name) to thirteen different language origins; Latin, Arabic, Asian Languages, French, German, Slavic Languages, Dutch, Old English, New World Languages, Japanese, Greek, and Italian.

In early December, contestants were instructed to study the first ten words on each list totaling140 words. They practiced at least ten times after school with fourth grade teacher and Sespe School’s Spelling Bee Organizer, Donna Wojciechowski.

The spelling bee was initially set for 8:45 am on Tuesday, January 20 to take place on stage in Sespe School's cafeteria. The event was delayed to witness a first in American history as Barack Obama was sworn into office. After President Obama finished his Inaugural Speech, the live feed from Washington DC was turned off and the anxious spellers took their seats on stage. Ms. Wojceichowski took the microphone and clearly announced the spelling bee rules.

As it turned out, History would be made twice that morning. The Sespe Spelling Bee went an astonishing 29 rounds with three competitors remaining and every word on the study list exhausted. Mrs. Wojciechowski exclaimed, "This is the first time in Sespe School history that we have gone through the entire list of words in a spelling bee!" The three remaining contestants were fifth grader, Lupita Perez, and fourth graders Dillon Galarza, and Emma Godfrey.

Since the three winners had not studied more than the assigned 140 words, Ms. Wojciechowski decided that to be fair, they should have a chance to study the next 240 words (the next fifteen words on each word list) and return the next morning at 8:15 am for the tiebreaker. No pressure. Their teachers were merciful, excusing them from other homework to allow for much needed study time.

The following morning, fourth and fifth graders assembled in the cafeteria once again and the remaining three contestants, all considered winners but feeling slightly overwhelmed, took to the stage for the tiebreaker. After round 30, only two contestants remained; fourth grade classmates Emma Godfrey and Dillon Galarza. They would battle it out another six rounds until finally on round 37; Dillon Galarza was declared the Sespe Elementary Champion Speller, a big step on the way to the Scripps National Spelling Bee. The final word was megalopolis. As Champion, Dillon was awarded a medal and a one-year, on-line subscription to Encyclopedia Britannica.

When asked what it feels like to be the winner, Dillon replied, "It feels really good but I feel kind of bad for the others because I know they studied hard too. I'm still glad that I won."

Dillon will represent Sespe School as he goes on to compete against 14 other students in the Area Spelling Bee. If Dillon is unable to compete in the Area Spelling Bee, Emma Godfrey, as Runner-Up will replace him. The event will be held at Blanchard School in Santa Paula on February 17, 2009 at 9:00 a.m. Among the fifteen schools will be two other schools and students from our district; Piru Elementary will be represented by Spelling Champion, Ramon Ramos or Second Place Winner, Joel Flores and Mountain Vista Elementary with their Champion, Luke Meyers or Second Place Winner, Mishell Beylick. In all, there will be ten Area Bee Competitions consisting of 177 schools. The winners of each Area Bee will compete in the County Spelling Bee, scheduled for Monday, March 9, beginning at 6 p.m. at California State University, Channel Islands, Malibu Hall 100. The county champion will go on to the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington DC to be televised on ESPN and ABC.

The Scripps National Spelling Bee will involve more than ten million students at the local level and over 275 finalists.