HUNTERSVILLE — St. Mark School fourth-grader Charlie Haynes recently won the 2016-’17 Mecklenburg Area Catholic Schools Spelling Bee. Diocesan schools superintendent Dr. Janice Ritter serves as the official pronouncer for the spelling bee.
The MACS Spelling Bee is comprised of students from the following seven Catholic schools: St. Mark, Our Lady of Assumption, St. Patrick, St. Ann, St. Gabriel, St. Matthew and Holy Trinity Middle. Each elementary school sends one fourth- and fifth-grade representative, and each school with middle school students sends an additional middle school representative.
Haynes’ win secured his spot in the 63rd Charlotte Observer Spelling Bee held Feb. 27. His alternate was John Tricarico from St. Gabriel School. (They are pictured above with Ritter.)
Twenty-seven contestants from 13 counties in North and South Carolina competed. Representing MACS, he made it through the seventh round. The Observer Spelling Bee winner participates in the National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C.
— Denise Reis