San Bernardino’s Isabel Cholbi Returns to Washington for National Spelling Bee

SAN BERNARDINO, CA—Seventh grader Isabel Cholbi, the two-time San Bernardino City Unified School District (SBCUSD) Collaborative Spelling Bee winner will compete in the Scripps National Spelling Bee, May 28 to 30. As the winner of the San Bernardino spelling bee, the Chavez Middle School student won a trip to Washington, D.C. to participate in the Scripps National Spelling Bee. This will be Isabel’s second time competing in the national event.

The competition begins on May 28 with the Preliminaries Test for all 281 competitors.  The test includes spelling words and vocabulary questions. Competitors who misspell a word in round two or three of the preliminaries, on May 29, are eliminated. A maximum of 50 competitors will qualify for the semifinals. The preliminaries will be broadcast on ESPN3 on Wednesday, May 29 at 8 a.m. and at 1:15 p.m. EDT (5 a.m. and 10:15 a.m. Pacific Time). The semifinals will air on ESPN2 on Thursday, May 30 at 2 p.m. EDT (11 a.m. Pacific Time). The finals air on ESPN on Thursday, May 30 at 8 p.m. EDT (5 p.m. Pacific Time).

Every competitor will receive Webster’s Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged and, courtesy of Jay Sugarman, a 2013 United States Mint Proof Set, plus and Award Certificate. The SBCUSD Collaborative Spelling Bee is affiliated with the Scripps National Spelling Bee, giving Cholbi access to official study guides and materials.

Isabel is not only an accomplished speller, she also builds websites and is learning computer programming languages; she has also competed in the regional science fair every year since 2010; placing fourth in 2013. The talented Isabel is also a musician and plays the xylophone, glockenspiel and vibraphone.

We will be tuning in on ESPN next week to cheer Isabel on.  We hope the community will join in and show support for one of the many special young people coming up in the Inland Empire, and in San Bernardino particularly! (WSSN-5/17/13)