E.T. Booth Student Wins County Spelling Bee; Four Advance

<p><em>Woodstock Community News| Woodstock, GA</em></p><p>An eighth-grade student from E.T. Booth Middle School secured the top spot at the 2026 Cherokee County School District Spelling Bee this week. Miller Inthirathvongsy correctly spelled "apostrophe" to win the competition held at Cherokee High School, leading a group of four students who will move on to the regional level.</p><p>Inthirathvongsy was joined in the top rankings by three elementary school students. Arnold Mill Elementary fourth-grader Vanya Singh took second place, followed by Sixes Elementary fifth-grader Griffin Mincey in third, and Oak Grove Elementary STEAM Academy fourth-grader Mac Wells in fourth. All four finalists are scheduled to compete at the Region Bee on Feb. 28. Winners at the state level will eventually proceed to the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C. this June.</p><p>The annual event, sponsored by the Cherokee County Association of Educators and the Georgia Association of Educators, brought together school-level winners from elementary and middle schools across the district. Joy Silk, the district’s director of teaching and learning, served as the caller of the words, while judging was conducted by Tiffany Robbins, Jennifer Campbell, and GAE Spelling Bee Coordinator Bekki Couch.</p><p>Several other local students represented their schools in the countywide contest, including Raghav Madhavan from Woodstock Elementary, Evelyn Higginbotham from Woodstock Middle School, and Jordan Fitzgerald from Little River Elementary. The district commended all participants and the school board for their focus on student achievement in the classroom.</p>