“Notabilia.” This word is defined as noting things worthy of attention, and it also was the word that Kevin Morsink, a student at Hidden Valley Middle School correctly spelled to win the 2024 Roanoke County Spelling Bee held on February 13. Morsink advances to the regional spelling bee later this spring at Radford University.
Each elementary and middle school held a school-level spelling bee earlier this year, where the top winner from each school bee advanced to the Roanoke County spelling bee. A total of 21 participants had to correctly spell words of increasing difficulty in a double-elimination competition. After 13 rounds, Morsink was the last speller standing among three students that advanced to the championship round.
Following Morsink correctly spelled championship word, the remaining two students competed to determine the alternate. Aadhya Routh from Penn Forest Elementary School won the spell-off and will serve as the alternate should Morsink not be able to participate in the regional spelling bee this spring.