Thank you to everyone who came out to cheer on the 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students for the 7th annual Higgins/Peabody Education Foundation Spelling Bee!

For the second consecutive year, Sofia Valencia is the champion of the Higgins Middle School/Peabody Education Foundation Spelling Bee! As a sixth grade student, she placed first and went on to take fourth place at the Regional Bee. She will again compete in the Lynn Evening Item Regional Spelling Bee in March.

Owen Stanley, an eighth grader, placed second at the Spelling Bee and sixth grader Belle Lurie came in third. Twenty-six students took the stage in the Nordstrom wing of the North Shore Mall and competed for 90 minutes. Bee Masters for the event were Higgins Principal Todd Bucey and PEF member and City Councilors Tom Gould and Dave Gravel. Ashley Royer, a published young adult author and the winner of the first Higgins Spelling Bee, served as a judge at the event. She was joined by PEF board members Phil Richard, Steve Shea and Dan Vassallo.

Check Out Pictures from the Salem News