The excitement and tension were palpable on Thursday evening inside Dekaney High School’s Star Theater, as elementary and middle school students from across the district gathered for the annual Spring ISD Spelling Bee. 

Members of the audience and contestants onstage alike leaned in, hanging on every syllable, in anticipation as the more than 30 campus champions – ranging from first grade through eighth grade – competed to emerge as the district’s top English spelling bee winner for 2023-24.

At the end of the night – nearly three hours and a dozen rounds after students first gathered and prepared to take to the stage – just two contestants remained, as winner and runner-up.

Roberson Middle School eighth-grader Itzel Mendoza, who ultimately emerged triumphant, will now represent Spring ISD at the 2024 Scripps Regional Spelling Bee as the winner of this year’s districtwide bee. After tackling a range of both longer and shorter words earlier in the event, her final two words of the evening were “tempura” – which propelled Mendoza past the final elimination round – and the botanical term “sedge,” which was the evening’s final championship word.

Mendoza and runner-up Savanna Souphanouvong, who is in the fifth grade at the International School at Salyers, went through several elimination rounds together after all the other contestants had left the stage. Throughout the evening, as one by one they finished spelling their words, each contestant waited, hoping not to hear the sound of a single bell rung from the judges table, which would signal an incorrect attempt.

In the end, though, there was applause from the audience for every contestant on a stage filled with campus spelling bee champions and their alternates.

“This was truly a tournament of champions, and all of our campus winners did their schools and our district proud,” said Spring ISD Superintendent Dr. Lupita Hinojosa. “The many hours of work they each put into preparing and practicing for this contest is incredible, and it reflects our dedication in Spring ISD to developing a love of language in each of our students.”

Ever since taking part in last year’s spelling bee, Mendoza has had her heart set on returning this year and making it further in the competition, but said she was still surprised to be the last student standing at the microphone.

“I’m just in shock,” Mendoza said afterward. “I’ve really been looking forward to this, and I really wanted to win since last year, but it just means a lot to me.”

Mendoza said her most important practice partner and supporter has been her mom, who went through round after round of spelling drills to help her daughter get ready for this year’s contest.

“English is not my first language, so I messed up a lot!” Maria Mendoza said. “But sometimes you learn more when you messed up than when you get it right. Then you pay more attention.”

After watching her daughter speak with so much poise and precision onstage, Mendoza said she was also impressed at the transformation in her normally shy child.

“I know she’s really anxious in public, so it took a lot for her,” Mendoza said. “But she turns into someone else when she’s up there, she really does. She’s really shy, but when she’s up there, you don’t notice that. I’m just so proud of her.”

Spring ISD curriculum specialists Tiffany McQuaig-Wallace and Khristian Green once again coordinated the annual campus and districtwide spelling bee events, and were on-hand to encourage students and express their thanks for all the hard work that goes into the annual events.

“This is our fifth year as co-coordinators of our district spelling bee program, and it’s always an exciting endeavor to undertake,” McQuaig-Wallace said, “assisting the campus coordinators in organizing their campus-level bees, attending those bees and watching the competitive spirit of our scholars. That has been an absolutely amazing experience, and we look forward to it every year.”

McQuaig-Wallace and Green noted that competition can be fierce, with spellers of every age giving it their all at both the middle school and elementary school contests.

“They all compete at the same level, because when they advance to the regional, and possibly to the national bee, they all compete together,” Green said. “Scripps is open from first grade to eighth grade, so they all compete at the highest level!”

The 2024 Scripps Regional Spelling Bee will be hosted this year by Houston Community College on March 23. The top three spellers from the regional event will qualify to progress to the Scripps National Spelling Bee, to be held in May in the Washington, D.C. area.