Henagar’s Sommer Gimm wins DeKalb Spelling Bee

Henagar’s Sommer Gimm wins DeKalb Spelling Bee

PHOTO: Henagar 8th Grader Sommer Gimm will be heading to Alabaster to compete at the state level next month! (Mary Crosby | DeKalb County Schools)

By C. Campbell, Staff Writer

cody@southerntorch.com

FORT PAYNE, Ala. — For approximately one hour on Thursday, February 16th, 13 students from across DeKalb County competed in the DeKalb County area spelling bee at the DeKalb Theater in Fort Payne.

Winning this year’s competition was Sommer Gimm, an eighth grader at Henagar Middle School, while Hailey Haston, an eighth grader at Crossville Middle School, was the runner-up.

Contestants in the 2017 DeKalb Area Spelling Bee. (Mary Crosby | DeKalb County Schools)

“While each school has their own way of selecting a student to compete at the county level, most all of them have a school-wide competition, and the champion of these school spelling bees advances to the county level,” explained Mary Crosby, the curriculum supervisor for the DeKalb County School System.

In addition to students from the DeKalb County system, there were also competitors from both the Fort Payne City system and Cornerstone Christian Academy at last week’s spelling bee, which lasted several rounds before Gimm spelled the winning word, ‘alligator.’

Crosby also said how this marked the first year that a student from Henagar was the DeKalb County champion, though this was Gimm’s third time advancing to the county-wide spelling bee.

At the same time, Crosby mentioned how, at last week’s competition, she reminded everyone there how good spellers are becoming a thing of the past, and that being able to spell correctly is something that should be celebrated.

Having won at the county level, the next step for Gimm will be traveling to Alabaster next month to compete in the state-wide spelling bee.

“From the DeKalb County School System and Superintendent, Dr. Jason Barnett, we wish Sommer the best of luck at state,” Crosby said.

We at the Southern Torch also want to wish Sommer the best of luck next month in Alabaster!