Moody MS eighth-grader finishes 30th at Scripps National Spelling Bee
Moody Middle School eighth-grader Taran Shivkumar finished 30th at the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C., correctly spelling three words and answering two questions, as well as passing a spelling and vocabulary knowledge threshold quiz, before being eliminated in the eighth round when he misspelled the word cryosel, which refers to cryohydrate, a crystalline solid.
Shivkumar finished as a semifinalist. He was competing with 246 other elementary and middle school students from throughout the nation at the event, which was held at the DAR Constitution Hall.
In the first round, Shivkumar correctly spelled “vicissitudes,” and then in the second round he correctly defined “hedonism” as a way of life based upon the pursuit of pleasure. In the third round, he passed the required threshold with his answers to 24 spelling questions and six vocabulary questions, and then in the fourth round, he spelled “hypoxemia” correctly.
In the fifth round, he correctly defined “draconian” as meaning “extreme severity or cruelty,” and in the sixth round he correctly spelled “ortet.”
Shivkumar advanced to the national event after winning the Henrico County Divisionwide Spelling Bee Feb. 5 and then claiming the Richmond Raceway Regional Spelling Bee March 24.
