PVS Spelling Bee

Due to the current pandemic, many activities and events have been put on hold. Many people thought this would mean that the annual Spelling Bee competition that so many students look forward to would be canceled this year. However, we are happy to say that PVS was able to successfully make arrangements for the Spelling Bee to take place in a safe and socially distanced setting. After three grade-level competition winners* from 3rd to 8th grade were determined, these 18 students were asked to complete PVS COVID-19 slips before they could compete in the school-wide competition. This would ensure those who had any symptoms of COVID-19 or had been in close contact with anyone with the virus would not put others at risk. On October 30th, the finalists were seated at a safe distance from each other in the PVS gym, and they, as well as the judges, kept their masks on throughout the entire competition. After over two exciting hours, we had our three school-wide winners.** 1st place winner, 4th grader Mohammed Sarr, said, “I was so nervous, but it was fun.” The Spelling Bee conductors were also very happy with how things turned out. “I really enjoyed seeing the students compete. They all worked so hard and were super excited to see their friends. Being back in the PVS building seemed to boost their confidence and foster a sense of normalcy,” said Ms. April Jenkins. Another judge, Ms. Maysa Safi, was impressed by the students’ performance and said, “I am so proud of our PVS students, MashaAllah. It was very competitive and the students exceeded our expectations. They obviously put in a lot of time and effort in preparing for the competition. The whole process was done professionally and in a safe manner considering the current situation with COVID.”

**School-Wide Competition Winners:

1st Place: Mohammed Sarr (Grade 4)

2nd Place: Farzaan Quadri (Grade 7)

3rd Place: Fayadh Chowdhury (Grade 8)

*Grade-level Competition Winners:

3rd grade: Yousuf Siddiqui, Musa Khawaja, Nahile Ahmed

4th-grade: Mouhamad Sarr, Eshaan Quadri, Aadam Hassan

5th-grade: Isam Gouto, Saara Rahman, Eiman Siddiqui

6th Grade: Amal Ahmed, Laiba Zaman, Abdullah Khawaja

7th Grade: Mohammed Sarr, Humza Siddiqui, Farzaan Quadri

8th Grade: Fayadh Chowdhury, Musa Sheriff, Muzna Hangora