ALEXANDRIA — Discovery Middle School will send two students to the upcoming Regional Spelling Bee in Fergus Falls following a 17-round spelling showdown.
During an initial competition at Discovery, students spelled words that send adults scrambling to the dictionary. Collin Aber, a sixth-grader, took first place after correctly spelling "lustrum" and "cuirass."
Thomas Dutcher, grade 8, was the runner up. Both Collin and Thomas will advance to the Regional Spelling Bee in Fergus Falls early this month.
In all, nine spellers qualified for the oral spelling round by being the top spellers in their grade level determined by a written qualifying exam.
Discovery Middle School spelling bee participants: Front, from left: Adley Lorentz, grade 6; Collin Aber, grade 6; Nils Stadsklev, grade 7; Lauren Gates, grade 6. Back, from left: Mae Denne, grade 7; Joshua Makalinao, grade 8; Thomas Dutcher, grade 8; Shaelyn Groen, grade 8; Colton Nolden, grade 7. (Contributed / School District 206)
Our newsroom occasionally reports stories under a byline of "staff." Often, the "staff" byline is used when rewriting basic news briefs that originate from official sources, such as a city press release about a road closure, and which require little or no reporting. At times, this byline is used when a news story includes numerous authors or when the story is formed by aggregating previously reported news from various sources. If outside sources are used, it is noted within the story.