District Spelling Bee Winners
Twenty-one middle school students from seven middle schools recently participated in the District 204 Spelling Bee.
This year's competition went 21 rounds, with the two finalist competing in the last 15 rounds. Gregory Middle School eighth-grade student Viraja Alluri spelled “incognito” correctly to capture the District 204 championship.
Second place went to Jonathan Li, a sixth-grade student at Scullen Middle School. Hill Middle School eighth-grade student Arjun Sundararajan was the third-place winner.
The three District 204 winners will move on to compete in the county-wide ComEd/DuPage County Spelling Bee Finals on February 26 in Wheaton. The Scripps National Bee will take place on May 25-31, in Washington D.C.
Through a partnership with Naperville Community Television, DVDs of the District 204 Spelling Bee are available for purchase. A portion of the proceeds go to the Indian Prairie Educational Foundation. Visit NCTV17.com for ordering information.
Music Awards
The Illinois Music Educators Association (ILMEA) selected 53 District 204 student musicians, representing Metea Valley, Neuqua Valley and Waubonsie Valley High Schools to perform at the ILMEA All-State Music Festival last month. This placed District 204 at the top of the school districts statewide with participants at the ILMEA Conference. Special recognition goes to Katie Merrick, Metea Valley High School junior, on being named as a selectee for the ILMEA Future Music Educators Symposium.
In addition, the Crone Middle School Chamber Orchestra, under the direction of Katie Brown, and the Metea Valley High School Wind Ensemble, under the direction of Donald Devany, performed as part of the professional development program for teachers around the state. Ten District 204 staff members were selected as additional clinicians for the program.
Neuqua Valley High School student Celina Kobetitsch received recognition for the second year in a row from the ILMEA Composition Contest. Kobetitsch’s composition "The Easel" was awarded second place in the Instrumental Solo and Chamber Music category.
Waubonsie Valley High School teacher Mark Myers also recently received national recognition when he was asked to serve as the guest conductor for the Alabama All-State Show Choir. This was the second opportunity that Myers has received to serve as an All-State conductor. Last fall he served as the conductor of the Arizona All-State Show Choir.
Technology and Engineering Awards
The International Technology and Engineering Educators Association announced Metea Valley High School teacher Pat Feulner is the recipient of the 2014 Teacher Excellence Award for the State of Illinois. The award recognizes a teacher’s outstanding contribution to the profession. He will be recognized at the organization's annual conference in March.
In addition, the International Technology and Engineering Educators Association named Metea Valley's Technology Engineering Department as the recipient of the 2014 Program Excellence Award. Metea Valley was selected out of all the other high school programs as the best in Illinois this year.