Six NWI schools advance to Spell Bowl state finals

MERRILLVILLE | Northwest Indiana will be well-represented at the 2012 Indiana Academic Spell Bowl Junior Division State Finals on Nov. 10 at Purdue University in West Lafayette.

The team from Valparaiso's Thomas Jefferson Middle School tops the list with the only perfect score recorded during competitions Tuesday. The sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders from the school spelled all 72 words correctly, including “meerschaum” and “harridan.”

Teams from 27 region schools competed at various locations at 20th annual Spell Bowl contests sponsored by the Indiana Association of School Principals. Schools with similar enrollments compete against one another, with Class 1 having the largest school population and Class 4 the smallest.

At the Lake County Spell Bowl contest at Pierce Middle School in Merrillville, the team from Kahler Middle School in Dyer took top honors in Class 1, spelling 68 of 72 words correctly.

Hobart's River Forest Junior-Senior High School also will advance to the state finals in Class 3.

Benjamin Franklin Middle School in Valparaiso will advance to the state finals in Class 1, with Thomas Jefferson Middle School representing Class 2 schools in West Lafayette.

In the Class 4 contest, Holy Family School in Jasper, Ind., and Morgan Township Middle/High School in Valparaiso will advance to state.

Other schools competing from Northwest Indiana included:

Class 1: Wilbur Wright Middle School, Munster; Robert A. Taft Middle School, Crown Point; Kankakee Valley Middle School, Wheatfield; Jasper Middle School, Jasper; Kesling Middle School, LaPorte; Col. John Wheeler Middle School, Crown Point; Lowell Middle School, Lowell; Willowcreek Middle School, Portage; Clifford Pierce Middle School, Merrillville; Boston Middle School, LaPorte; Hobart Middle School, Hobart; and William Fegely Middle School, Portage.

Class 2: Hanover Central Middle School, Cedar Lake, and Griffith Middle School.

Class 3: Hebron Middle School; Union Township Middle School, Valparaiso; Boone Grove Middle School; and Thomas A. Edison Junior/Senior High School, Lake Station.

Class 4: Washington Township Middle School, Valparaiso; Wirt-Emerson Visual and Performing Art Academy, Gary; and Whiting Middle School.