Pierce Street fifth grader wins Tupelo Public School District spelling bee
Jan. 19—TUPELO — Pioneered. That's the word Ella Campbell spelled correctly to win the Tupelo Public School District spelling bee in the fourteenth round Thursday afternoon.
Campbell, a 10-year-old fifth grader at Pierce Street Elementary School, said she prepared by studying a provided word list, but she learned how to spell "pioneer" by watching "The Pioneer Woman" on television.
The competition included students from Lawhon Elementary, Lawndale Elementary, Milam Elementary, Pierce Street Elementary, Rankin Elementary and Tupelo Middle School.
The Lee County School District chose not to participate in a county bee this year, so Campbell will automatically advance to the state spelling bee in Columbus on March 4.
Cambell said she's excited but nervous for the state bee, much like she was Thursday. But if she fares as well as she did in the district bee, she'll be bringing the first place trophy home to Tupelo.
