Luke Thornburgh: Champion Home School Speller

by Kim Pregartner Weber

Sixth grader Luke Thornburgh of Purcellville is the overall champion of the 2012 Loudoun Homeschool Spelling Bee that was held on January 28 at the Carver Center. The Bee, originally scheduled for January 21, was rescheduled because of inclement weather. Twenty-two students from Loudoun County participated. The Bee's pronouncer was Mrs. Kimberly Estep and the judges were Mrs. Laurie Peacock and Mr. Logan Kirkpatrick.

Luke won the spell off for 6th grade by correctly spelling "isthmus" and "chandelier," and won the championship by correctly spelling "cologne" and "bankruptcy." This is Luke's second win in a row. He advances to compete in the Loudoun County Regional Spelling Bee in March at Stone Bridge High School. Fifth grader, Olivia Haller, was runner-up. She also will compete in the Regional Bee.
The Senior Bee ended with perfect scores for two fifth graders, Nino DeBarros and Olivia Haller, and two sixth graders, Lauren Rosenbach and Luke Thornburgh. A spell-off was held to determine the final grade winners and champion. Lauren and Nino received perfect scores in the oral and written rounds.

The winners in the junior and senior grades are: Grade 1-Leah Zielke; Grade 2-(tie) Joanna Abraham Cayla Marino; Grade 3-Rachel Fitzgerald; Grade 4-(tie) Kai Gold Clara Nemzoff; Grade 5-Olivia Haller; Grade 6-Luke Thornburgh; and for Grades 7 and 8 there were no competitors.

The Homeschool Bee is an official participant in the Scripps National Spelling Bee, with four of the winners eligible to advance to the Loudoun County Regional Spelling Bee, where they have a chance at advancing to the nationals. The winners of grades 5 and 6 will compete in March at the Loudoun Regional Spelling Bee at Stone Bridge High School in Ashburn. The winner of that bee moves on to the Scripps National Spelling Bee later this spring. u