The journey to second place in the Miami Herald Spelling Bee unfolded on Wednesday, March 6th, with our very own Archimedean Academy 5th grade scholar, Orlando Bodes. He courageously competed against 24 other Miami Dade County elementary and middle school students. Despite being one of the youngest participants, he embraced the challenge and was determined to showcase his readiness.

The student contestants showcased their linguistic skills and battled it out in a competition filled with excitement and anticipation. The bee went multiple rounds with Orlando facing words pulled from the dictionary like “pomato” and “butte.” Each word spelled correctly was a triumph, fueling the drive to push forward and excel.

After a nail-biting match for the last four contestants that remained, Orlando clinched the second place spot for the competition. He was runner-up to last year’s second-place winner, an 8th grader who was determined to take the top spot this year. His placement is a testament to the hard work and time dedicated to the art of spelling. We are very proud of his success and even prouder that he found it to be a rewarding and fulfilling experience. We do not doubt that he will be back next year for the coveted first-place award!