Students fifth through eighth grade stood in front of the room, confident, and spelled out their words.

The Campbell Union School District held its annual Spelling Bee Jan. 19, where four to five students from each of the three middle schools--Monroe, Rolling Hills and Campbell middle schools--competed for the honor of being the best speller in the district.

The district held school-level spelling bees in December 2010 to determine who would go on to participate in the district-level event. From there, the winners will compete in Berkeley and if they qualify, on to the  Chronicle Scripps Spelling Bee.

Here is what took place, what the teachers and kids had to say.