Spellbound

By JEFFREY SIMMONS/Staff

What’s Latin for spelling bee champion?
Davis Little has good reason to know the answer.
The Scott Memorial Middle School seventh-grader and county spelling bee winner credited part of his recent academic success to earlier study of the ancient language that plays a part in the words used today.
The 13-year-old correctly spelled “synthetically” on Feb. 25 to claim the county title and earn a trip to this weekend’s Roanoke Times Spelling Bee.
A win there would send the son of Dane and Debbie Little to the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C.
Davis Little won his school contest in January and squared off against eight other middle and elementary school competitors at the county event.
He didn’t miss a word.
“We had great spellers at this last bee,” said Marcy Olinger, Wythe’s supervisor of elementary and middle school education.
According to her, the final three contestants went back and forth for a long time before Little finally won. Fort Chiswell Middle School student Maegan Flinchum was runner-up.
While Davis stayed relatively calm during the county contest, his mother wasn’t as composed.
“He’s confident in front of people,” she said. “…I was more nervous than he was.”
Asked about the importance of good spelling, both Olinger and Davis said the skill could play a vital role in the job market.
“Pretty much in life, you need to be able to spell,” said Davis who studied and recited a list of practice words in the days leading up to the school and county bees.
When Davis finally gets around to filling out his resume, he hopes to work as a marine biologist.
“I’ve just kind of always liked it (science) for some reason,” he said.
When he’s not engrossed in the world of words, Davis enjoys playing football, swimming and wrestling. He’s also into art.
While Davis said he didn’t really have a favorite word, his brother, Dawson, chimed in with a little reminder.
“Dawson, be quiet,” he said laughing.
Jeffrey Simmons can be reached at 228-6611 or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).