The 6th grade student of William S. Reyes Elementary School will compete with the nation’s best spellers in the National Spelling Bee Competition to be held in the nation’s capital this June.
His victory marked the third consecutive win for CNMI schools in the regional contest.
“We are ecstatic and very excited because we have been sending students every year, and we really look forward to preparing students not only to compete with fellow students at WSR but at the regional level as well. And winning the regional competition is a huge success on our part and to everyone involved,” WSR principal Lynette Villagomez said.
Alcantara, 11, was joined by fellow WSR 6th grade student Masrur Alam.
Alam, 11, was last year’s WSR winner and he represented the school in the regional finals. Alcantara was his alternate.
Last Saturday’s competition on Guam was Alcantara’s big break. He has been competing since he was in the 3rd grade.
Alcantara and Alam were accompanied by 6th grade teacher Tony Taylor, who, along with the rest of WSR’s 6th grade teachers, organized the school’s spelling competition.
“We are going to prepare very hard to help Mikhail in the nationals,” Villagomez said. “We are confident as our students have always performed very well.”
This is the first time that WSR will be sending a student to the national competition.
Known as the Home of the Kingfisher, WSR is the oldest school in the Northern Marianas. It was built shortly after the war, in 1946. Today, it is home to about 725 students.
