Submitted Photo

On Jan. 4, 21 Fredonia Middle School students took the stage in front of peers, teachers and family members to compete in the school-wide spelling bee. These spellers, who were the best spellers in each grade (5-8), went through 20 rounds of words, including all of the study words they were given in advance, before a champion could be crowned. Jayden Yerico, 7th grader, won the Bee by correctly spelling niche. The final five rounds were exciting because it was a re-match between Jayden, last year’s runner-up, and 8th grader Erin Schrantz, last year’s champion. Jayden will advance to the county-wide written spelling bee next month. The top spellers in that round face off in Buffalo in March against all of Western New York. Pictured from left are: Jayden Yerico, Mrs. Michelle Greenough and Erin Schrantz.