WARSAW — Warsaw Community Schools (WCS) hosted its 2026 Elementary Spelling Bee on the evening of Jan. 21, bringing together 16 fifth and sixth-grade spellers.

Student representatives from each elementary school included:

• Claypool Elementary: Bailey Woodward (5th), Elizabeth Alexander (6th)

• Eisenhower Elementary: Ian Cervantes (5th), Madeline Hochstetler (6th)

• Harrison Elementary: Tommy Jennings (5th), Mya Chambers (5th)

• Jefferson Elementary: Cadence Shepherd (6th), Jackson Watson (5th)

• Leesburg Elementary: Fiona Fisk (5th), Madison Glova (5th)

• Lincoln Elementary: Isaac Qualley (5th), Krishna Puthucode (6th)

• Madison Elementary: Siddarth Chamala (6th), Dawson Miller (5th)

• Washington Elementary: Jane Zollinger (6th), Emma Shilling (5th)

After nine rounds of spelling over the course of an hour, Fiona Fisk, a fifth grader from Leesburg Elementary, was crowned champion with the winning word “gardenia.”  Fiona shared, “The process is incredibly nerve-wracking!”

Isaac Qualley, a fifth grader from Lincoln Elementary, finished as the runner-up following a strong showing throughout the bee.

As champion, Fiona Fisk has been registered on spellingbee.com to complete the regional qualifier test, a 50-question spelling and word meaning assessment administered between February 18–25. Top finishers on the qualifier will advance to the Scripps National Spelling Bee Indiana Regional Bee in March.

Warsaw Community Schools congratulates all student participants for their hard work and dedication and wishes Fiona the best of luck as she advances to the next level of competition.

The post Fiona Fisk and Isaac Qualley top winners in WCS Spelling Be appeared first on News Now Warsaw.

WARSAW — Warsaw Community Schools held the Elementary Spelling Bee Tuesday.

The spelling bee, led by Harrison Elementary School Principal Matt Deeds, bee pronouncer, was supported by a judges panel of Nate Polston, principal of Leesburg Elementary; Aimee Lunsford, principal of Lincoln Elementary; and Cheri Sleighter, principal of Washington STEM Academy.

Sixteen spellers from each WCS elementary school competed in the spelling bee after previously defeating over 1,000 other fifth- and sixth-graders, according to a news release from WCS.

After nearly two hours and 46 rounds of competition, two students from Harrison Elementary stood out.

The championship title was claimed by Chaitrali Chavan with the word "infusoria," and Dhanishka Sudarsan, last year's champion, took the runner-up spot.

Their consistent performance has kept the Harrison legacy alive, marking the sixth consecutive championship win for the school.

Chavan will participate in the Online Regional Qualifier Test between Feb. 5 and 12. The top spellers, approximately 20, will then proceed to the SNSB Region Three Regional Spelling Bee on Feb. 24.

Here are the representatives from each school: Claypool, Kennedy Shilling and Emilia Bueno; Eisenhower, Lillith Walker and Elliana Moore; Harrison, Sudarsan and Chavan; Jefferson, Bridget Baker and Will Green; Leesburg, Kate See and Elora Chaney; Lincoln, Rahil Patel and Uriel Saldivar; Madison, Olivia Vander Molen and Viroop Revuru; and Washington, Wyatt Adair and Carson Haack.

Deeds said, "I am especially proud of our final two spellers, Chaitrali and Dhanishka, for their commitment and hard work. Congratulations to all the students for such an impressive achievement."

Dr. Dani Barkey, deputy superintendent, said, “WCS would like to thank Mr. Deeds for continuing the spelling bee tradition and for hosting a fantastic event for the students of Warsaw community schools. We are proud to congratulate both Chaitrali and Dhanishka, along with their peers, for their commendable performances.”

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