Tanusri Kondle was crowned the champion of the Eisenhower Intermediate School Spelling Bee on Wednesday, January 22.
Now, as the 6th Grade student claimed, “is even," in the family household
Tanusri’s achievement came two years after her older brother, Harshit Kondle, won the Spelling Bee championship at the Bridgewater-Raritan Middle School.
“My brother won at the Middle School so now I won and we are even,” Tanusri proudly claimed. “He helped me practice.”
Tanusri emerged as the Spelling Bee Queen of Eisenhower from a field of 71 students when the competition began at the school.
Eventually, she advanced to the championship round on the afternoon of January 22 when the five finalists assembled in Room 610. The contest was coordinated under Deb Ronning, a 5th Grade English Language Arts Teacher who presented the words to the contestants as the contest's pronouncer.
Also on hand during the final round were the Spelling Bee’s two judges—Leigh Rousseau, a 6th Grade Language Arts Teacher, and Barbara Schaffter, a 5th Grade Language Arts Teacher. And sitting in the room enjoying this fun contest was Dr. Laura Bassett, the Eisenhower Principal.
Tanusri held off her schoolmates and won the prize in the sixth round when she correctly spelled COLLAGE.
Ms. Rousseau was especially proud because Tanusri is a student in her homeroom.
Tanusri revealed her method.
“I read a lot, and I also try to visualize the words written on paper,” she said.
The runners-up who tied for second place were Raza Zaidi and Ankitha Jeyaram
William Mason Medina followed those students and rounding out the top five was Sanjeetha Santhoshkumar
The next step for Tanusri will be the Regional Spelling Bee on March 2, which will be held at the South Orange Performing Arts Center.