A total of 47 fourth- through eighth-graders from the five northern counties of Idaho will participate in the 12th annual North Idaho Regional Spelling Bee Saturday, March 18, at North Idaho College. The winner will receive an all expense-paid trip to Washington, D.C. to participate in the Scripps National Spelling Bee the end of May.

Each contestant was the winner of his or her respective grade level in district qualifying bees held in public school districts as well as a home school and private school district throughout North Idaho.

“A total of 47 schools are involved in this year’s spelling bee from 10 districts across North Idaho, including home school associations and private schools,” said North Idaho Regional Spelling Bee Coordinator Mindy Patterson. “Congratulations to those who qualified for the regional bee this year—it’s an amazing accomplishment.”

The spellers will compete against each other, regardless of grade level, beginning at 9 a.m. in Boswell Hall Schuler Performing Arts Center on NIC’s main campus. Registration for participants will begin at 8:30 a.m.

The event is sponsored by Hagadone Newspapers and hosted by NIC.

Information: 208-769-3316.

2017 North Idaho Regional Spelling Bee participants:

Boundary County School District No. 101 — Rylie Kimball, fourth grade, Valley View Elementary; Ana Chase, fifth grade, Mt. Hall Elementary; Tyler Stockdale, sixth grade, Boundary County Middle School; Camille Ussher, seventh grade, Boundary County Middle School; and Regina Claphan, eighth grade, Boundary County Middle School.

Charter School District — Sienna Wilke Hepworth, sixth grade, Coeur d’Alene Charter Academy; Andrew Mangini, seventh grade, Coeur d’Alene Charter Academy; and Maria Aguiar, eighth grade, Coeur d’Alene Charter Academy.

Coeur d’Alene School District No. 271 — Isaac Hines, fourth grade, Skyway Elementary; Sebastian Baker, fifth grade, Dalton Elementary; Riley Peite, sixth grade, Woodland Middle School; Elisabeth Edmonds, seventh grade, Lakes Magnet Middle School; and Hayden Levy, eighth grade, Canfield Middle School.

Home School District — Faith Osborn, fourth grade, NIHEA home-schooler; Joseph Moran, fifth grade, NIHEA home-schooler; Abby McEwan, sixth grade, INCH home-schooler; Chase Tedder, seventh grade, NIHEA home-schooler; and Joshua Bobbitt, eighth grade, INCH home-schooler

Kellogg School District No. 391 — Allie Krug, fourth grade, Pinehurst Elementary; Zoe Brooks, fifth grade, Pinehurst Elementary; Serenity Delgado, sixth grade, Kellogg Middle School; Marcus Pugh, seventh grade, Kellogg Middle School; and Jaxon Card, eighth grade, Kellogg Middle School

Kootenai School District No. 274 — Travis Usdrowski, fourth grade, Harrison Elementary; Liam Gentry, fifth grade, Harrison Elementary; Alaina Hebert, sixth grade, Kootenai Jr./Sr. High School; Matthew Rodgers, seventh grade, Kootenai Jr./Sr. High School; and Devin Goodson, eighth grade, Kootenai Jr./Sr. High School.

Lake Pend Oreille School District No. 84 — Andrew Pugh, fourth grade, Kootenai Elementary; Aurora Miller, fifth grade, Northside Elementary; Kirby Abad, sixth grade, Northside Elementary; Ky Blaser, seventh grade, Sandpoint Middle School; and Jaycee Forell, eighth grade, Sandpoint Middle School

Lakeland School District No. 272 — Stryker Vestal, fourth grade, John Brown Elementary; Trevor Davis, fifth grade, Garwood Elementary; JJ Vrooman,sixth grade, Betty Kiefer Elementary; Fifer Bernhardt, seventh grade, Timberlake Junior High School; and Calvin Schenkenberger, eighth grade, Lakeland Junior High School

Private School District — Evelyn Sutton, fourth grade, LAM Christian Academy; Grace Priest, fifth grade, North Idaho Christian School; Connor Erickson, sixth grade, House of the Lord Christian Academy; Kylen Claridge, seventh grade, North Idaho Christian School; and Andrea Harris, eighth grade, House of the Lord Christian Academy

Wallace School District No. 393 — Gabe Anderson, fourth grade, Silver Hills Elementary; Brad Stutzke, fifth grade, Silver Hills Elementary; Payton Stuart, sixth grade, Silver Hills Elementary; and Anthony Helseth, seventh grade, Wallace Jr./Sr. High School.