Farmington student wins RSU 9 district bee

NEW SHARON — It took 24 rounds to declare sixth-grader Aubrey Hoes a winner in the Mt. Blue Regional School District Spelling Bee on Monday.

Hoes, of Cascade Brook School in Farmington, and eighth-grader Ben Andrews, of Mt. Blue Middle School, went through 10 rounds before Hoes took the title.

Andrews missed the word “vitriolic” to give Hoes the edge. Hoes went on to spell “insinuate” and then “affluent” to capture the win.

Hoes and Andrews, along with third-place winner Maeve Hickey of the middle school and fourth place winner Scott Barber of Academy Hill School in Wilton, will go to the Franklin County Spelling Bee at 7 p.m. Feb. 4 at the Strong Elementary School. Haley Garcia from the middle school is the alternate.

There were 14 contestants from grades four through eight from four schools who competed. Teacher Maureen Oswald pronounced the words for contestants.

Judges were Keith Acedo, principal of Academy Hill School, Nichole Goodspeed, principal of Cascade Brook School, and Wendy Ross, an educational technician at Cape Cod Hill School.

Darlene Paine, principal of Cape Cod Hill School, read the rules prior to the students and members of the audience prior to the bee beginning.

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: Emma White, a fifth-grader at Cape Cod Hill School in New Sharon, stands on her toes and looks at the ceiling as she spells the word “broken” during the Mt. Blue Regional School District Spelling Bee in New Sharon on Monday.

: Ben Andrews, an eighth-grader at Mt. Blue Middle School in Farmington, waits for a word to spell at the Mt. Blue Regional School District Spelling Bee at Cape Cod Hill School in New Sharon on Monday. Aubrey Hoes, a sixth-grader at Cascade Brook School in Farmington, awaits his turn.

: Jillian Muradian, a sixth-grader at Cape Cod Hill School in New Sharon, spells a word during the Mt. Blue Regional School District Spelling Bee in New Sharon on Monday.

: Winners in the Mt. Blue Regional School District Spelling Bee at Cape Cod Hill School in New Sharon on Monday are, from left, Ben Andrews, eighth-grader at Mt. Blue Middle School, second; Aubrey Hoes, sixth-grader at Academy Hill School, first; Maeve Hickey, seventh-grader at the middle school, third; Scott Barber, a fifth-grader at Academy Hill School, fourth; and Haley Garcia, eighth-grader at the middle school, alternate.