We Have a W-I-N-N-E-R! If you ask Westchester Hills School 29 School 5th grader Majeed Rayan Asante to spell SUCCESS, don’t be surprised to hear the letters C-H-A-P-E-R-O-N-E, which he pronounced in the correct order to win the 59th annual Citywide Fifth Grade Spelling Bee at Saunders Trades and Technical High School, Friday, May 16, 2025.

Second place honors went to Daniel Eduardo Romero Martinez, Dodson School, and third place went to Thomas Derek Callahan, PEARLS Hawthorne School. Congratulations to them, their teachers, and their supportive families!

Sponsored by the Exchange Club of Yonkers in association with Yonkers Public Schools, the Fifth Grade Spelling Bee has been a tradition for nearly six decades. It involves thousands of children in classroom and school-wide elimination contests as they progress to the Citywide Finals. This year, 68 public and parochial school students earned the right to compete for honors.