Boston's Best Spellers Celebrated at 18th Annual Citywide Spelling Bee

Family members, teachers, and friends were on hand this past Saturday to support 25 Boston youth from across the City competing in Boston's 18th annual BCYF Citywide Spelling Bee. Organized by Boston Centers for Youth & Families (BCYF), the City of Boston's largest youth and human service agency, and sponsored by the Boston Bruins Foundation, the winner, Sanjay Malhotra, now goes on to the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington D.C. in May.

Over 3,000 young people participated in Boston public and parochial school spelling bees to qualify for the BCYF Citywide Bee. The preparation helps young people improve their spelling, broaden their vocabulary, and build self-confidence.

"The remarkable poise and linguistic talent shown by our spellers today were truly inspiring, and we are immensely proud of every student who took the stage," said Marta E. Rivera, Commissioner of BCYF. "We remain deeply grateful to the Boston Bruins Foundation for their steadfast partnership in providing this enriching opportunity for our city's youth. A special thank you goes to our esteemed judges for volunteering their time and expertise to support our students' academic journeys. We will be enthusiastically cheering on Sanjay as he represents the pride of Boston at the Scripps National Spelling Bee this May."

Commissioner Rivera opened the speaking program and welcomed the spellers and their families. All spellers were given participation medals. The Bee was held in Rabb Hall at the Boston Public Library's Copley Branch. Judges were Head Judge: Kristin McSwain, Chief of Policy and Research, City of Boston; Pronouncer: Sebastian Stockman; Professor of English, Northeastern University; and Records Judge: Lisa Conley, Deputy Chief of Human Services, City of Boston.

Sanjay Malhotra, age 12, the winner of this year's Bee, won by spelling "Brume" correctly.  The second place finisher was Haylee Chen, age 12 and coming in third was Saabir Abdirahman, age 9. The Bee went 13 rounds and 3 final and 7 championship rounds.

The Scripps National Spelling Bee is the nation's largest and longest-running spelling bee. This year's Boston winner will now advance to compete in the 2026 Scripps National Spelling Bee.  The one and only national winner from Massachusetts was in 1939. In addition to the opportunity to advance to the National Bee, the BCYF Spelling Bee winner receives a one-year subscription to Merriam-Webster Unabridged Online, a one-year subscription to Encyclopedia Britannica Online Premium, a one-year subscription to News-O-Matic Subscription and a trophy. Second place and third place finishers received a $125 Amazon gift card and trophies.

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Participating Spellers:

#	School	Speller Name	Grade			Age	Neighborhood
1	Boston College High School	Connor Theis	8			10	East Boston
2	Boston Latin Academy	Maya Mastrodicasa	8			14	West Roxbury
3	Boston Latin School	Lily Liang	7			12	Brighton
4	Boston Preparatory Charter School	Elizabeth Brea	8			13	Back Bay
5	Curtis Guild Elementary	James Brownwell	5			11	East Boston
6	David A. Ellis Elementary School	Juliyanni Banks	6			12	Roxbury
7	Dudley St. Neighborhood Charter School	Marie Ndoye	4			10	Roxbury
8	Edison K-8	Paul Jepson	6			12	Brighton
9	Edward Brooke Charter School, East Boston	Nathan Solomon	7			12	East Boston
10	Edward Brooke Charter School, Mattapan	Saabir Abdirahman	4			9	Roxbury
11	Edward Brooke Charter School, Roslindale	Ethan Dorilas	7			12	Mattapan
12	Henry Grew Elementary School	Ardyn Perry	5			10	Roslindale
13	Hugh R. O' Donnell Elementary School	Haytam El Ayoubi	4			10	East Boston
14	James F. Condon K-8 School	Laylah Robinson	6			11	South End
15	James Otis Elementary School	Aliyah May Francois	6			11	East Boston
16	John Eliot K-8	Sanjay Malhotra	6			12	Roxbury
17	Joseph Manning Elementary School	Sydney Schiff	More on EntSun News Explosive $10 Billion Counter-Drone Market with AI-Powered Defense Ecosystem: ZenaTech, Inc. (N A S D A Q: ZENA) High-Value Execution Phase Begins: Bitcoin Bancorp Ignites Texas Rollout of Digital Asset ATM Network: Bitcoin Bancorp (Stock Symbol: BCBC) $BCBC The Team of Atlas Elite Entertainment honors Rodney F Crews Lovecraft in Florida Wins Best Documentary UK Financial Ltd Tokenized LTNS 1, A $1.1 T Asset-Backed ERC-3643 Security Token with 11 On-Chain Contracts Verifying, Compliant Real-World Value 5			10	Jamaica Plain
18	Kipp Academy, Boston	Debra - Faith Butler	4			10	Dorchester
19	Patrick Lyndon Elementary School	Coraline McNamara	5			11	Roslindale
20	Rafael Hernandez K-8 School	Malala Madden Fuoco	6			11	Hyde Park
21	Richard Murphy K-8 School	Sophia Rice	4			9	Dorchester
22	Samuel Adams Elementary	Julian Grondin	4			10	East Boston
23	South Boston Catholic Academy	Liam Sullivan	3
24	St. John School	Madelyn Lashway	6			11	Back Bay
25	Warren Prescott K-8 School	Alexandra Das	5			10	Charlestown
26	William H. Ohrenberger	Clairy Gonzalez-Pimentel	5			11	Roslindale
27	Winship Elementary School	Haylee Chen	6			12	Brighton

Winning words from the previous years of the Bee:

Year	Winning Word
2008	Lariat
2009	Scenario
2010	Ravioli
2011	Toboggan
2012	Myriad
2013	Schnauzer
2014	Contiguous
2015	Schottische
2016	Diurnal
2017	Cacophony
2018	Crescendo
2019	Huckabee
2021	Glissando
2022	Après
2023	Ancho
2024	Cornea
2025	Senecio
2026	Brume

Boston Centers for Youth & Families's mission is to strengthen Boston youth and families in their pursuit of success through meaningful relationships, essential programs, and vital community resources.

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