PATTON Elementary School student Landon Atkins won the district’s Elementary School Spelling Bee beating out the top spellers from 43 GGUSD elementary schools. To celebrate this accomplish and award Landon a trophy are (from left) Superintendent Gabriela Mafi, Patton Assistant Principal Sherry Sanborn, Patton Principal Jennifer Carter, Board of Education Trustee Lan Nguyen, Assistant Superintendent of Elementary Education Joli Armitage, and Assistant Superintendent of K-12 Educational Services Lorena Sanchez (GGUSD)

Patton Elementary School sixth grader Landon Atkins was named champion of Garden Grove Unified School District’s 33rd Annual Spelling Bee for elementary students held on February 19 at the Edgar District Meeting Center.

Atkins correctly spelled the deciding word, poignant, to become the top speller among 43 elementary schools in GGUSD. There was a three-way tie for second place among Allen Elementary sixth grader Kory Lim, Barker Elementary fifth grader Zack Nguyen, and Peters Elementary sixth grader Jessica Truong.

GGUSD Board of Education Trustee Lan Nguyen presented trophies to the first and second place winners.

“It is always a joy to see our young scholars come prepared for a rigorous spelling competition after months of study and practice,” said Nguyen.  “The Spelling Bee competition shows students what is possible through hard work and dedication.”