Spelling Bee

The Greater Grand Rapids Spelling Bee is a Regional bee affiliated with the Scripps National Spelling Bee. The winner wins a trip to compete in the prestigious Scripps National Spelling Bee near Washington, D.C.

Spelling bees help students improve their spelling, expand their vocabularies, learn language concepts, and develop correct English usage, plus composure under the spotlight, which will help them all of their lives.

2026 Greater Grand Rapids Spelling Bee

15 regional qualifiers from six counties (Allegan, Barry, Kent, Muskegon, Newaygo and Ottawa) competed on March 19, 2026 at the Kent ISD Conference Center for the right to go to Washington, D.C. for the Scripps National Spelling Bee.

The winner in 2026 was Sanskriti Parihar, an 8th grader from Fremont Middle School. Taking second place was Cedar Springs eighth-grader Christopher Thaddieus Smith III, and in third was eighth-grader Vonn Oosterhouse from Forest Hills Northern Hills Middle School. There was a tie for fourth place between eighth-grader Aanya Naveen, from Forest Hills Northern Hills Middle School, and seventh-grader Evelyn Fennema, from Moline Christian School.

From left, Cedar Springs eighth-grader Christopher Thaddieus Smith III, Forest Hills Northern Hills eighth-grader Vonn Oosterhouse, and Fremont eighth-grader and champion Sanskriti Parihar .

2026 Spelling Bee Participants

Information and Resources

Scripps National Spelling Bee