Local students advance to Southeast Minnesota Final Spelling Bee
Eighth-graders Giselle Hinks and Carter Peterson advanced from Austin Public Schools as well as Hollandale Christian sixth-grader Jessica Bird.
Two Regional Spelling Bees were held on Tuesday, Feb. 4 at the Wood Lake Meeting Center in Rochester with 48 students participating.
Students from 29 districts throughout southeast Minnesota advanced to compete in the regional competitions coordinated by the Southeast Service Cooperative.
The top 12 spellers (six from each spelling bee) now advance to the Final Spelling Bee at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 18, at the Wood Lake Meeting Center (210 Wood Lake Dr SE, Rochester, MN 55904). The event is anticipated to be done around 11 a.m.
The grand champion of the final will advance to the annual Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Yahoo
EDITORIAL: Going all the way to the big event
Jun. 11—Last weekend, a student from Lawrence County took part in a major event and getting to do so was an honor in itself. Joseph Keffer, who will be entering the sixth grade at Chesapeake Middle School his fall, traveled to the Washington, D.C. area, where he took part in the Scripps National Spelling Bee, which celebrates its 100th anniversary this year. Getting to the bee first required Keffer to win his individual school bee, then to qualify, through a test for the regional bee, held in Athens, and then win that competition. Along the way, he also won the county's spelling bee in December. In the national bee, Keffer made it to the third round, tying for 100th place, putting him in the top half of the bee's 243 competitors. It was an impressive showing for him and, with three more years of eligibility for the bee left, he has a good chance to do it again. And this is the third time in the last 15 years that our county has had a student make it to the national event, with Felicity Jenkins and Meredith Dunlap preceding Keffer. It is a testament, not just to their abilities, but of the education they received from our local schools. We congratulate Keffer for his achievement this year and look forward to what else he accomplishes. You Might Like News Area students named to OU's Spring 2025 President's List Sports Pedro Bass Club names winners from Marina tourney News DeWine, mental health leaders unveil 988 license plate News Concert series returns Tuesday night
Yahoo
07-06-2025
- Yahoo
Austin Online Academy growth more than just the numbers
Jun. 6—In late May, the Austin Public Schools District released its latest numbers reflecting graduates from its Austin Online Academy (AOA). In just three short years the number of graduates has expanded from under 10 the first year, 2022-23, to 52 this year reflecting a growing popularity of the alternative learning style the AOA offers. Even though comparing the first and third year is akin to comparing the proverbial apples to oranges, it nevertheless speaks to what the AOA can do for students not wanting a traditional education template. "I think year one was just a lot of learning of who a successful student is," said AOA and Alternative Learning Center Principal Jessica Cabeen. "Based on that knowledge and obviously the dedicated, seasoned teachers we have in that program, it's really increased." A breakdown of the numbers shows continuing inclination to explore what the AOA has to offer students in four primary areas: non-Austin students, unique districts outside of Austin, supplemental students taking up to three courses and comprehensive students taking all courses. In 2022-23, the program had just seven non-Austin students, students from unique districts and comprehensive students and no supplemental students. In the next two years, those first three areas showed rapid growth and supplemental students, while not quite so steep, still showed growth. Even between the first and second semesters of this school year, there was solid growth: —Non-Austin: Semester 1 — 37; Semester 2 — 49 —Unique Districts: Semester 1 — 24; Semester 2 — 30 —Comprehensive Students: Semester 1 — 30; Semester 2 — 44 Cabeen said there are multiple layers to the growth, but primarily she narrows it down to two areas — word getting out and the teachers in the AOA. "That word of mouth and those relationships are really what's helping brand our program," Cabeen said. The AOA falls under the alternative umbrella model of education at the school, growing on the same tree as the ALC. Both are meeting students where they are and largely that's because of flexibility in the programming. Students generally choose the AOA because of its flexibility. "The flexibility is a big piece to it," Cabeen said. "We have a lot of fifth and sixth-year seniors that really want to get that diploma, but don't want to be in a brick and mortar setting." The reasons for this can be varying, but Cabeen said it's how the program recognizes these challenges that can make a difference. "They kind of like coming to us because our teachers are a clean slate," she said. "There's no judgment, there's no guilt. We're here to help you learn and we're really excited when they make that final walk." One of the areas that has helped the AOA grow has been the NCAA endorsement, which few online schools have. It plays into the plans of students hoping to continue playing athletics in college. An example of this has been Aidan Martinez, who will be playing soccer at the University of Wisconsin and currently playing for Minnesota United FC 2, a professional developmental team in the Twin Cities. Cabeen added that there is a possibility of reaching out even further to teams like the Austin Bruins if the interest is there. "I can see us starting to branch out into some of these other amateur athletics that students are looking for," Cabeen said. Ultimately, what the numbers reflect is a growing avenue for students looking for alternative routes or even second chances. Second chances that could be life-changing. "I think what I'm noticing is that some of these students, if they wouldn't come here they wouldn't graduate," Cabeen said, picking out one story to relate of a student outside of the district that nearly aged out of his school. "I wonder for a student like that, if he hadn't had this opportunity, would his next step look different? I think that's something I'm excited about is helping support students that maybe didn't see themselves as a graduate, graduating — in a non-traditional way, but still graduating."
USA Today
06-06-2025
- USA Today
Which word does Illinois, other states struggle to spell?
Which word does Illinois, other states struggle to spell? Show Caption Hide Caption Chippewa Local speller Zach Yeager prepares for national bee Zach Yeager, a student at Chippewa Junior/Senior High School in Doylestown, is busy preparing for the Scripps National Spelling Bee. Oddly, "misspell," a not-particularly easy word to spell, is not on a recently released list of words Americans most often misspell. But as the Scripps National Spelling Bee gets underway, a study by an online tool for Scrabble players and others who play word games, finds that Americans have a hard time spelling a host of other words. Using Google Trends search data from the start of the year through May 19 for "How do you spell ..." and "How to spell ...," analysts found that we definitely can't spell "definitely." We can't separate our impulse to misspell "separate" from search engine inquiries. And we somehow find it necessary to Google the spelling of "necessary." Those are the top three hard-to-spell words, respectively, according to WordUnscrambler's analysis. You won't believe what else is on the list. Or maybe you will. What does a Google analysis reveal about spelling miscues? At least two words with the challenging i-e combination made the list of most-misspelled words: "believe," which came in at No. 4, and "neighbor," at No. 7. There were 33,500 searches for "definitely," 30,000 for "separate" and 29,000 for "necessary." "Through" seems to be a troublesome word, with 28,000 searches. But maybe we can also take some solace in a polarized nation in some other words on the list: We may be complimenting one another a lot, because "gorgeous" is No. 6 on the list. And we obviously care about our "neighbors," even if that e-i-or-i-e thing gives us fits. Google took root with a misspelling Google's own origin story includes a misspelling: Creators Sergei Brin and Larry Page originally called their search engine Backrub. But Page had a better idea (it might have been hard to think of a worse one): googol, or a "1" followed by 100 zeroes, or, if you're into exponents, 10 to the 100th power. Page misspelled it, and Google, the search engine, was born. The search engine's ubiquity, though, has made "google" a verb as well as a proper noun. And that popularity comes in large part because of its utility in helping us find some of our "favorite" (No. 9 on the list of most misspelled words) things. The things we search for most may be some of the things we misspell most often: "business" is No. 8 on the list and "restaurant" is No. 10 for misspelled searches. What do people in your state misspell the most? Alabama, Kansas, New York and Wisconsin all want to be "different," while Arkansans just want a good "quesadilla." Colorado, home to six U.S. military bases, seems to search "sergeant" a lot, and Delaware, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Nebraska, South Dakota, West Virginia and Wyoming are all looking for someone or something that's "beautiful." Californians and Washingtonians (of the state variety) are looking for "appreciation," and people in Montana and New Mexico want to "appreciate" whatever it is that they appreciate. Contrary to their prickly reputations, New Jerseyans like to say "Congratulations," as do the folks in Illinois. Floridians like to "compliment" people. And in Arizona, Kentucky, South Carolina and Virginia, they're just looking for, well, "people." Maine is concerned with "pneumonia," and who can blame them? In Alaska, they can't stop thinking about "tomorrow," and in Connecticut, they're apparently on a strict "schedule." North Carolinians are keeping a "secret," while they're merely "protective" in New Hampshire (and in Texas, where the spelling of "protect" is searched most often). They're evidently practicing their "crochet" skills in Ohio, but practicing "patience" in Oklahoma. No one should be running with "scissors" in Pennsylvania. But folks everywhere, including in Tennessee, should eat their "broccoli" to stay strong. Some states contributed to the top words on the list, including "definitely" (Idaho and Utah), "necessary" (Georgia), "through" (Iowa and Louisiana) and "business" (Oregon). In Indiana, they're wondering what's being "taught," while Nevadans are concerned with "school." Maryland is searching for "character," and Minnesota wants to be "successful." In Michigan, they're starting from "scratch" but feeling the heat in Missouri, where the "temperature" gets warm. Rhode Islanders are curious about what's been "cancelled" and in North Dakota, it's all about the "daughter" (because "son" is pretty easy to spell). It's hard not to envy the people of Hawaii, though, who are thinking about the next "luau." And what's up with you, Vermont? You just want to know how to spell "supercalifragilisticexpialidocious." Don't we all? Do you want to share a slice of Americana with USA TODAY? Contact Phaedra Trethan by email at ptrethan@ on X (formerly Twitter) @wordsbyphaedra, on BlueSky @byphaedra, or on Threads @by_phaedra
