MANSFIELD — Students from Ontario, Plymouth-Shiloh and Madison took the top honors in the 2022 Richland County 3rd Grade Spelling Bee.
Isaac Hohman of Stingel Elementary School won first place. Runner up Brody Kuhlman of Plymouth-Shiloh Elementary took second place. The third place winner was a student from Eastview Elementary.
Kirsten Pscholka-Gartner, Winston Greene, Father Kevin Moebius and Amy Weaver served as judges. The event was held at Madison Middle School.
The bee and qualifying event were organized by Linda Burrage, who was inspired to start the competition while working as a substitute teacher. She continues to organize the bee with financial support from the community.
Burrage stated that the competition teaches more than just spelling — it also helps students learn to identify nouns and verbs. Her hope is that it helps prepare students for fourth grade and improves their standardized test scores.
