Eighth-grader Nicholas Furman and seventh-grader Catherine Herrera will represent the Minisink Valley School District at the March 10 Orange County Spelling Bee to be held at Orange-Ulster BOCES in Goshen.

Nicholas won his recent grade level bee by correctly spelling “therapeutic.”

Catherine won her recent grade level bee by correctly spelling “exposure.”

Spelling bees are competitions where contestants are asked to spell a broad selection of words, usually with a varying degree of difficulty. To compete, contestants must memorize the spellings of words as written in dictionaries, and recite them accordingly.

Spelling bees are thought to have originated in the United States, and are now held worldwide.