It took 24 rounds to narrow 22 of St. Francis Xavier’s top student spellers down to its champion.

Fifth-grader Kate Brink won her school’s spelling bee Nov. 6. She will represent the Jesuit school at the diocesan spelling bee which is set for Jan. 27, 2015. The annual diocesan event is always held as part of Catholic Schools Week celebrations.

Brink faced off against eighth-grader Bianca Dapon in the final round and correctly spelled “quintessential” for the title of top speller. Dapon, the runner up, will serve as an alternate for the diocesan spelling bee.

Catholic schools throughout the Diocese of Phoenix will be holding similar spelling bees in the coming weeks to determine who advances to the diocesan level of competition.
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Spelling aces

At least three Catholic school students have gone on to claim the national title including: Elizabeth Hess from St. Matthew in Phoenix (1953) and Anamika Veeramani from Incarnate Word Academy in Ohio (2010). Many also advanced to the national competition in 2008, according to Catholic News Service

Take a spelling test from a website that some local Catholic schools use

Catholic dictionary. Learn some new words and their meaning[/quote_box_center]