L to R: D. Joseph Corr, Katrina Simonsen, Sarah Sternbach and Prachi Mishra.

February 2, 2010 - Sixth-grader Sarah Sternbach, of Southgate Elementary correctly spelled the word “epithet” to win the district’s annual spelling bee.

The three runners up were Katrina Simonsen, an eighth-grader and Elana Krapin, a seventh-grader, both from Shaker Junior High School, and Prachi Mishra, a fifth-grader at Forts Ferry.

The four students head to the 28th annual Capital Region Spelling Bee, which will be held Monday, March 15 at 5 p.m. at Proctors Theatre in Schenectady. The champion of the Capital Region Spelling Bee will win an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C. to compete in the 2010 Scripps National Spelling Bee from May 24-29.

The four finalists and 25 other students qualified for the competition after participating in classroom spelling bees, followed by school wide bees at each of the district's seven elementary schools and the junior high school.

Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction, D. Joseph Corr was the official pronouncer.