Tallulah Falls School eighth graders Josh Lander of Lula and Morgan Ward of Alto made a remarkable achievement by dominating grade-level and school-wide spelling bee competitions last semester. The winning words for the two spelling enthusiasts included “Vesuvian” and “preternaturally,” which helped them secure spots to compete for TFS in Round 1 of the Georgia Independent School Association (GISA) Spelling Bee.
The competition was held virtually via the Scripps Online Test Platform. Lander and Ward put in countless hours of preparation before the test, and their hard work paid off.
While Ward gave it her best shot and ended her spelling bee journey with satisfaction, Lander received the news hours later that his score had qualified him for Round 2 of the GISA Spelling Bee competition alongside 29 other middle schoolers in the GISA region.
Lander made the top 15 spellers in the GISA division of the Scripps Spelling Bee before he met his match in Round 3 at Mount de Sales Academy in Macon.
Hannah Gibson, eighth-grade English teacher and spelling bee coordinator, expressed her excitement for the students, saying, “Josh and Morgan have blown me away with their determination preparing for each level of the bee. It was super exciting to watch Josh move on to the next round of competition. Everyone was cheering for him.”