The Ripon Unified school board recently acknowledged the top spellers in the district.

Those were the same ones who competed in the San Joaquin County Office of Education Spelling Bee on Dec. 2 and Dec. 4.

“We’re proud of the academic achievements of our students at RUSD,” Superintendent Ziggy Robeson said at the Dec. 17 meeting.

Included were seventh grader Jacob Thomas, fourth grader Brian Hampton, sixth grader Dahlia Silveira, and eighth grader Jack Schoolland from Ripon Elementary School.

From Ripon High was ninth-grade student April Yan.

Fourth grader Caitlin Mooney from Weston Elementary School as was Harleen Kaur, a sixth-grade student at Park View Elementary School.

Kaur was the only one from RUSD to advance past the opening round – the fourth-through-sixth grade group were made up of 42 students from throughout San Joaquin County – making it to the finals of the Elementary Division.

Thomas, Schoolland, and Yan competed in the Junior Division made up of seventh through ninth graders.