Caleb Maeng successfully spelled “broil” then “gambit” in rounds one and two of the North Jersey Regional Spelling Bee. It was held at Bergen Community College on March 11, 2025.
Maeng spelled against nearly 80 other spelling bee school champions at the event. He missed the word “verbena” in round three. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary online, verbena is “any of a genus of numerous plants including some that are often grown in gardens for their showy spikes of white, pink, red, or blue flowers.” Maeng, a fourth grader, represented Patrick M. Villano School after winning its schoolwide bee last month.
“I felt nervous to be on stage in front of the whole school. When I won the [school] spelling bee, I felt happy that it was over, and I didn’t need to worry about it anymore,” Maeng said.
Every year, the Student Congress advisers host a spelling bee. Representatives from each homeroom class, fourth grade through sixth grade, spell words until they get one wrong. The last person standing wins and moves onto the schoolwide bee.
“Being in the school spelling bee feels really good. I felt the excitement rush through my veins,” Leila Donnellon, the winner of her homeroom spelling bee, said cheerfully.
“The word I messed up on was the word ‘lollygag’, and I felt a little disappointed and happy that I made it to second place,” Giovanni Cevallos, the runner up for one of the fifth grade classes, said.
Cervallos was dedicated, and if the winner of his homeroom bee backed down, he said he’d be ready.
An eighth-grader from New Milford won the North Jersey Regional Spelling Bee with the word “xenopus”. According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary online, xenopus is “a genus of African aquatic frogs …” The student now heads to Washington, D.C., to participate in the national spelling bee this May.
