Sree Vidya Siliveri, an eighth-grade student at Landrum Middle School, won the annual St. Johns County School District (SJCSD) Spelling Bee held Wednesday at First Coast Technical College. She won by spelling the word “diocese” correctly. Sree Vidya is the daughter of Sreedar and Mangamma Siliveri.
It took 11 rounds for the winner to be determined. The participants were congratulated by School Board members Kelly Barrera, Dr. Linda Thomson, Tony Coleman, and Beverly Slough.
Forty-nine elementary and middle school students from 34 public schools and four private schools competed for the honor of representing St. Johns County in the First Coast Regional Spelling Bee scheduled to be held on Friday, March 7, 2025.
The winner of the regional spelling bee will advance to compete in the Scripps National Spelling Bee scheduled in May in Washington, D.C.
Dr. Rebecca England, SJCSD Program Specialist for Elementary Language Arts, served as the spelling bee coordinator and the pronouncer was Kate Houston, Program Specialist for Secondary Language Arts. Judges for the event were Linda Villadoniga, retired SJCSD teacher, Eilea Van Scoy, community member and SJCSD parent, and Cheryl Freeman, Director of the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program.
The Spelling Bee is available for viewing on St. Johns Educational Access TV channels 99 or 262 and here on the SJCSD Website.