Coulson Tough Elementary hosts first spelling bee, names champions

THE WOODLANDS, TX – Coulston Tough Elementary School, named after one of the original driving forces of the Township and known as the ‘Architect of The Woodlands,’ recently held a months-long spelling bee, its first ever.

The comprehensive contest started its first rounds last November, and celebrated its final on January 27. On November 17 of last year, 334 participants in grades 1 through 6 entered the competition with the written test round. The top ten from each grade level advanced to the second round. For this oral bee round, the top 20 of 63 participants made it to the oral bee final round.

At the finals, participants went 13 rounds before the championship round, which itself lasted four rounds before the competition was narrowed down to the last two finalists. From there, it only took one round to name the champion with the correct spelling of the word ‘synonym.’

“The competition ran for about 90 minutes. The participants were very excited and a little nervous, and all extremely competitive,” said Nicola Thomas, Para Aide/Instructional at Tough Elementary.

The Champion was 5th-grader Michael Muthalaly, with fellow 5th-grader Irene Hahn as the Runner-Up. Both will receive a free one-year subscription to Britannica Kids Online.

“We are so proud of every single student that participated. Spelling bees don’t just build better spellers; they build resilient, focused, humble students who know how to try, fail, and try again,” said Thomas.