After competing in round one of the area GISA middle school spelling bee at Mount de Sales, 8th grader A’nna Wilcox and 6th grader, Harris Noland, advanced to compete in the state competition held in Atlanta. Harris remained in competition through round two, and A’nna finished strong in 17th place overall. There were 170 independent schools represented from across the state and 50 competitors to the state finals. The competition included a written spelling section, vocabulary definitions, and an oral spelling division.

Though A’nna does not consider spelling one of her strong suits, she does love French, French culture, and studying linguistics (for fun), which does not hurt in her pursuit for spelling perfection. “I love learning in general,” she says, so it is hard to pick one favorite subject. She adds, “It depends on the teacher, but I really enjoy science.” As a Mount de Sales middle school student, A’nna is a member of the quiz bowl team, participates in Lego robotics, and enjoys drawing and painting. Congratulations A’nna and Harris!