Mildew. Diamond. Octopus. Chemical.

These words have little in common — other than that seventh-graders at Ellis Middle School know how to spell them, under the lights, on a stage, in front of a crowd.

Spelling bees took place yesterday at Austin elementary schools and at the middle school.

Students were selected to participate in the bees based on results of a paper and pencil spelling test they took in class in December, said Amanda Bremner of the gifted and talented program.

Students with the top written test scores in each grade competed in the bees.

The winners from Banfield Elementary were: first place, Noah Lund; second, Shannon Rowball; third, Eve Brogan. The winners from Southgate Elementary were: first place, Samantha Cummings; second, Katie Mentz; third, Jenna Grabau. The winners from Sumner Elementary were: first place, Isaac Smith; second place tie, Fred Ogilvie and Haley Culbert; The winners from Neveln Elementary were: first place, Ethan Berke; second, Ailiz Nguyen; third,  Manamany Abella. The winners from Ellis Middle School’s sixth grade were: first place, Valentina Truong-Ferreria; second, Simon Johnson; third, Brendan Dunlap. The winners from Ellis Middle School’s seventh grade were: first place, Tyler Blomquist; second, Bethany Rowbal; third, Anna Bachmeier. The winners from Ellis Middle School’s eighth grade were: first place, Grace Berke; second, Julie Arkells; third, Alex Gosha.

The first and second place winners at each school will compete in the district spelling bee on Wednesday, Jan. 27 at 3:15 p.m. in the Ellis auditorium.