Carden Hall student spells her way to O.C. bee

A Carden Hall sixth-grader has qualified for the final round of the Orange County Spelling Bee.

Laurel Foster will compete Saturday in the final oral round against students from around the county. The winner will move on to the Scripps National Spelling Bee finals in Washington, D.C.

Laurel was one of five Carden students to qualify for the preliminary, written round of the county bee. Students qualified by winning their school’s or district’s spelling bee.

Laurel has been practicing with her peers — seventh-graders Dessi Gomez and Beatrice Marshall, eighth-grader Kevin Ryu, and fellow sixth-grader Jaanki Patel — with teachers at lunch and after school, and at home to prepare for the competition.

— Britney Barnes

Twitter: @britneyjbarnes