On Monday, March 21, students across North Carolina sat down to computers at their schools to respond to on-demand writing prompts in regional competitions for The Quill, a writing competition presented by the North Carolina Association for Scholastic Activities.

Prompts covered the core curriculum types of argumentation, problem/solution, narrative writing (middle school), creative writing (high school), informative/explanatory (middle school), and literary analysis (high school).

High school students were asked to imagine that they were sent to start a new colony on a distant planet, and to argue for or against raising the federal minimum wage.

Students competed to move on to the April 23 state final hosted by Northwood High School in Pittsboro. There, after a morning of writing, students will be treated to speaker Tommy Hays, lecturer at UNC Asheville and author of the critically acclaimed middle school level novel, What I Came to Tell You.

Regionals divided the state into East and West divisions. The following schools and individuals advanced to the state final for the West Regional Division: South Iredell HS; Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy, Rutherford County; Myers Park HS, Charlotte; Lexington Senior HS; Surry Early College HS.

The Quill is one of 23 competitions that will determine the best high school and middle school in the state. The NCASA Scholastic Cup and NCSSM Challenge Cup will be awarded to the high schools and middle schools with the best overall performance among the 23 major scholastic competitions in North Carolina. Points are awarded for participation and excellence in NCASA and partner competitions.

-Submitted by Shannon Meyer