Theisen Middle School takes home spelling bee trophy with winning word 'pariah'
FOND DU LAC — From "altitude" to "fossilize," 46 words challenged local young minds at Fond du Lac's spelling bee.
The 48th annual citywide spelling bee brought together 18 first-place winners from their respective schools' spelling bees in the Theisen Middle School auditorium Feb. 8.
Theisen Middle School student Shishir Maddineni took the championship with the winning word "pariah."
Three runners-up had made it to the final round: Zaeron Zellner of St. Peter's Lutheran, Sam Polacek of Woodworth Middle School and Trinity Barrett-Paap of Fond du Lac Christian School.
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Spelling bee judges were Daphne Lemke, Streetwise reporter for the Fond du Lac Reporter, and Sandra O'Connell, school resource officer for Theisen.
Theisen Middle School Principal Brad Nerat emceed the spelling bee, and Assistant Principal Allison Birschbach was assistant emcee.
Last year's spelling bee winner was Trinity Barrett-Paap, and the traveling trophy, awarded each year to the top speller's school, will now move from Fond du Lac Christian School to Theisen for the first time since 2018.
The top spellers receive plaques courtesy of The Reporter, which first co-sponsored the event alongside the Fond du Lac School District at the spelling bee's inception in 1976.
The late Bill Graves, managing editor of The Reporter at the time, worked with school administrators to bring the event to life as a bicentennial project. It was meant to stress the importance and power of words in light of historical documents, especially the Declaration of Independence.
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The full list of spelling bee participants included Rosemary Jacobi of Waters Elementary School, Will Nash of St. Mary's Springs Academy Middle School, Trinity Barrett-Paap of Fond du Lac Christian School, Graham Sullivan of Lakeshore Elementary School, Aiden McCarthy of Riverside Elementary School, Sam Polacek of Woodworth Middle School, Elliot Ruppert of Evans Elementary School, Zaeron Zellner of St. Peter's Lutheran, Rakiaa Moua of Pier Elementary School, Shamarjei Rigsby of Parkside Elementary School, Hadley Jensen of Faith Lutheran School, Cleo Parker of Roberts Elementary School, Oliver Meyer of Chegwin Elementary School, Shishir Maddineni of Theisen Middle School, Chloe Chen of Sabish Middle School, Nishesh Bista of Rosenow Elementary School, Cadence Roehrig of St. Mary's Springs Elementary School and Macy Christensen of Redeemer Lutheran School.
Daphne Lemke is the Streetwise reporter for the Fond du Lac Reporter. Contact her at dlemke@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Fond du Lac Reporter: Theisen Middle School student wins Fond du Lac spelling bee 2024
