Forestview Middle School eighth-grader Henry Hopkins won the Brainerd Public Schools sixth through eighth grade oral spelling bee Wednesday, Jan. 23, at Forestview Middle School.
Sixteen students competed in eight rounds, with tie-breaking rounds to name the champion of the district bee and to determine the top seven students who would advance to the regional spelling bee.
There were nine eighth-graders, five seventh-graders and two sixth-graders who competed. One sixth grade student, who qualified for the spelling bee, was absent and did not compete.
The regional bee will be Feb. 19 at Sourcewell in Staples. The regional spelling bee-sponsored by Sourcewell, formerly the National Joint Powers Alliance-is a regional bee with students in grades fourth through eighth from Crow Wing, Morrison, Wadena, Todd and Cass counties competing for a chance to advance to the 2019 Scripps National Spelling Bee in May in Washington, D.C.
The Brainerd Public Schools bee is open to students in sixth through eighth grades. Written tests are given to about 1,500 students. The top 15 students with the highest scores qualify for the oral district bee. The top seven from the district bee advance to the regional bee, where one student will advance to nationals.
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The pronouncer was Kathy Tusa and the judges were Brenda Johnson, Paula Mangan and Karen Ogdahl.
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