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Local kids to compete at State Spelling Bee
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Avery Owen, a sixth grader at Walnut Elementary Education Center, will compete against 59 other fourth through sixth graders from 31 counties in the State Spelling Bee Championship on Saturday. - photo by JONATHAN MCCORKELL / The Journal

A pair of Turlock Unified School District students will represent Stanislaus County at the 2012 California State Elementary Spelling Bee, scheduled to be held Saturday in Stockton.

Joven Hundal, a fifth grader at Julien Elementary, and Avery Owen, a sixth grader at Walnut Elementary Education Center, will compete against 59 other fourth through sixth graders from 31 counties in California who have been certified as champions by their respective county superintendents.

The spelling bee championship is a chance for top students across the state to showcase their knowledge and talent and put their preparation to the test as they compete for the title of the state’s best spelling student.

Both Avery and Joven said they study every day for the spelling bee. They use the dictionary and lists of commonly misspelled words to hone their spelling skills.

Avery’s favorite subjects at Walnut are spelling, reading and art. Outside of school she enjoys playing piano, reading, cooking, sewing, track and golf. Avery plans to eventually attend Juilliard and she would like to be a professional pianist or artist. Her advice for future spellers is to spend a lot of time reading books.

Joven’s favorite subjects at Julien are math, history, science and spelling of course. His favorite activities include reading, playing basketball and soccer. He would like to become a lawyer when he grows up. In the summer he enjoys taking classes at Modesto Junior College, which he strongly recommends to other children. For young spellers he suggests they read above grade level spelling books.

This year’s state spelling bee will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Saturday at the San Joaquin’s Office of Education Wentworth Education Center. The event is open to the public and Tim Daly of News 10 will be the Spellmaster.