Portsmouth 5th Grader Wins Spelling Bee

For a lot of us, our biggest accomplishments come later in life.  For me, I think I peaked at 12 when I competed in the Western Mass Spelling Bee Championship.  It was such a fun time and genuinely a highlight!

A fifth grader from Portsmouth not only experienced that same goal, but actually won the entire state championship!  Little Harbour Elementary School fifth-grader Aadhavan Veerandra won the title of 67^th Annual Union Leader New Hampshire State Spelling Bee according to Seacoastonline.com.

Addy was able to correctly spell the word “octogenary” during the 16^th round of competition.  Seacoastonline.com reports that Addy is no stranger to spelling bees.  He’s been competing since the 4^th grade and won last year’s school wide spelling bee at his school.

Veerandra tells seacoastonline.com that when it came to the final world “I was just super surprised that I got it right….”  He says that “I feel kind of proud I represented my school.”

Veeranda won $3,000, a ticket to the national spelling bee and most importantly a giant trophy.  Seacoastonline.com reports that Veerandra is super generous, as well as a great speller, donating $500 back to Little Harbour to be donated to clubs like the spelling bee.

Congratulations Addy, we wish you the best of luck in the Nationals!