Yavneh Academy’s Annual Spelling Bee is always a winter highlight. Students vie for the opportunity to represent Yavneh Academy at the Northern NJ Spelling Bee which will be held on the March 22 at Bergen Community College. The winner of that competition will be one step closer to competing in the 2016 Scripps National Spelling Bee.

Standing on stage in front of their peers, children spelled words including query, languish, effusive, and olfactory. The preliminary qualifying rounds left three finalists: Dahlia Feintuch, Elana Felig and Ephraim Helfgot. The words flew across the stage with the children mastering additional words: acquiesce, porcelain, melee. With two finalists left, the words that determined the winner were xenophobic and gargantuan.

The winner was Elana Felig who will be competing on March 22.