NATCHEZ — Myriad, a noun meaning a large number of things, is one word Connor Mire will never forget.

Mire was knocked out of the Mississippi Private School Education Association district spelling bee on that word, but now the six letter word rolls off his tongue with ease.

“M-Y-R-I-A-D,” Mire said. “I’ve got it now.”

Mire, a 10-year-old fourth-grader at Trinity Episcopal Day School, may have gotten hung up on that one word, but his spelling prowess led him to a second place finish in the MPSEA spelling bee. That high finish has also qualified him for the MPSEA overall spelling bee in Jackson.

Mire got the opportunity to compete in the district meet after beating out 10 other fourth graders and winning the grade level spelling bee at his school.

And Mire said it is his school, or his schoolwork at least, that gave him an advantage in each of the spelling bees he has competed in.

“We do spelling tests every week, and I learned a lot of words that way,” he said. “And we do reading tests, and I see a lot of the words in the reading.”

Connor’s mother, Jennifer Mire, said the focus Connor shows in his schoolwork is indicative of his personality.

“He’s always been a hard worker,” she said.

And Connor is working hard to prepare for the state spelling bee that will be at First Presbyterian Day School in Jackson on April 21. He said he is using the “Valarie’s Spelling Bee Supplement” to familiarize himself with more words that he might hear in the upcoming spelling bee.

“I go over about two pages each morning and then we go over them again at night,” Connor said.

But Jennifer said any extra work Connor puts in is by his own choice.

“We want this to be a good experience for him,” she said. “As long as he wants to do it and is having fun, we’ll work with him.”

Connor is taking his mom’s advice by keeping spelling fun but said he does get a little knot in his stomach sometimes.

“I get a little nervous before the first word,” he said. “But after that, I’m fine.”