When Camila Sanchez-Izquierdo got second place in last year’s Miami Herald Spelling Bee for Miami-Dade and Monroe Counties, she never thought she’d get that far again.
This year, she returned to the 84th annual contest, held Wednesday at the New World Center in Miami Beach, and she won.
Asked how she feels, Camila, an eighth-grade student at Highpoint Academy, a K-8 school in Miami-Dade County, said: “That’s so hard to describe,” with a chuckle. “I have no words.”
The 13-year-old first spelled “panopticon,” or an optical instrument, correctly. The audience gasped, cheered and leaned in, waiting to see if she’d close the deal with a winning word.
Then she spelled “retrospect,” the act of looking back or thinking about past events, correctly, and her face lit up in a smile.
Sanchez-Izquierdo will now represent Miami-Dade and Monroe Counties in the 97th Scripps National Spelling Bee, a televised event that will take place from May 26 to June 1 in Maryland. She will compete against hundreds of spellers who also won regional bees across the United States and other countries.
“When I was on stage, I just kept thinking, ‘I’m going to the Scripps National Spelling Bee. Wow’,” Sanchez-Izquierdo said. “I’m going to DC!”
The Scripps winner last year got $50,000 in cash, a medal and the Scripps Cup — the official trophy of the Spelling Bee, decorated with flowers and bees in pastel colors.
How did these 25 spellers get here?
The Miami Herald sponsors two spelling bees every year, one for Miami-Dade and Monroe students and another for Broward students. The latter will take place Thursday at the NSU Art Museum in Fort Lauderdale.
Students from first to eighth grade at public schools, charter schools, private schools and home schools can participate. All students first participate in local competitions at their schools. The winners then qualify for the Herald’s Bee and get a word list to practice.
On Wednesday, the kids shuffled in at about 9 a.m., some biting their nails and others playing with their hair.
Alana Kaplan, the mother of Simone Kaplan, a three-time Miami Herald Spelling Bee winner and runner up of the National Scripps Spelling Bee in 2019, greeted them. She told the 25 children that her now 18-year-old daughter had participated in three Miami Herald bees and got words wrong at each one. It was OK, she said.
“Breathe slowly. Try to spell as accurately as you can,” she told them.
“I know we all look scary but we’re not,” she added about the judges.
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Soon after, parents and other family members walked into the room carrying signs and flowers. They snapped photos and flashed thumbs ups to their kids.
Simone Kaplan, known for her bee fashion, wore a white blazer with a gold studded bee on the back, and was Wednesday’s pronouncer.
Along with Alana Kaplan, judges included Heidi Carr, program director of undergraduate public relations at the University of Miami and a former Miami Herald editor; and longtime Spelling Bee volunteer Debbie Christie.
Juan Rondeau, a 15-year-old ninth grader at Westminster Christian School who won last year’s bee for Miami-Dade and Monroe for the third time in a row, joined the panel as the assistant judge.
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15 rounds during the 2024 Miami-Dade, Monroe bee
Wednesday’s bee lasted for 15 rounds, or about three hours.
It started out with words from the given list: abashed, avenue, canoe. Four students lost in the first round.
At the start of the fourth round, the judges had run out of the words from the list, so they moved onto words from the dictionary. Although some seemed easy like “chronological” — which the dictionary defines as “according to the order of time” — they challenged spellers because they hadn’t studied them before.
Toward the end, some of the audience members lifted their brows in astonishment at the less-known words like “gloriosa,” a plant, and “exegesis,” the critical explanation or interpretation of a text.
Judie ElAttar, an 8-year-old third grader at David Fairchild Elementary School in Miami, was the youngest participant Wednesday. She wore two bee ponytails and a bee-themed flared dress. This was the third year in a row that she qualified.
In 2022, she lost in the third round. In 2023, she lost in the second round. This year, she made it until the fifth round until she lost with “gnatcatcher,” a type of bird.
When she forgot the silent “g”, her dad, Tamer ElAttar, met her at the side of the stage and hugged her. Her mom, who also coaches her, was outside of the room, praying.
“We’re proud. So proud,” Tamer ElAttar said.
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Zoe Quiñones, a 10-year-old fourth grader, also from David Fairchild Elementary School, stayed positive as she faced defeat: “Thank you for the chance,” she told the judges with a smile. “I’ll be back next year.
Some students got kisses and hi-fives when they met their loved ones in the audience.
Martin Cardona, a 10-year-old fourth grader at Ada Merritt Elementary Center in Miami, got words of encouragement. He participated in the Herald’s bee for the first time this year and was the second youngest contestant Wednesday.
When he misspelled “compensable,” an adjective to describe what can be compensated, his father, Alex Cardona, put his hand around his shoulder and whispered in his ear: “You did great.”
By 11:30 a.m., at the start of round six, eight spellers remained on stage, which featured four red, blue and yellow balloon towers.
Sanchez-Izquierdo won at about 12:30 p.m.
Orlando Bodes, a fifth grader at Archimedean Academy in Kendale Lakes, got second place.
James Reese, an eighth grader at Aventura City Of Excellence Charter School, got third place. It was his fourth time participating in the Herald’s bee.
Amanda Smith is a dedicated U.S. correspondent with a passion for uncovering the stories that shape the nation. With a background in political science, she provides in-depth analysis and insightful commentary on domestic affairs, ensuring readers are well-informed about the latest developments across the United States.
