7th grader named Spelling Bee champ

Morganton, NC – Tuesday, Oct. 17,  2023

Sam E. from East Burke Middle School is the winner of the 2023 Burke County Public Schools Spelling Bee. After 11 rounds followed by another 21 words, the seventh grader correctly spelled the winning word, “skirmish.” Runner up was Madelyn H., last year’s Spelling Bee winner. The evening started with 20 spellers from elementary and middle schools who were the winners of their school-level spelling bees. The school-level winners and district participants were:

• Burke Virtual Academy, Damian M., grade 7
• Drexel Elementary, Serenity R., grade 5
• East Burke Middle, Samuel E., grade 7
• Forest Hill Elementary, Sirr B., grade 5
• George Hildebrand Elementary, Zoey H., grade 4
• Glen Alpine Elementary, Grayson H., grade 5
• Heritage Middle, Madelyn H., grade 8
• Hildebran Elementary, Paisley M., grade 5
• Hillcrest Elementary, Wesley A., grade 4
• Icard Elementary, Brandt P., grade 4
• Liberty Middle, Leah H., grade 8
• Mountain View Elementary, Lincoln B., grade 4
• Mull Elementary, Annabel M., grade 5
• Oak Hill Elementary, Elijah G., grade 5
• Ray Childers Elementary, Deepti K., grade 5
• Salem Elementary, Ramsay T., grade 5
• Table Rock Middle, Bailey H., grade 7
• Valdese Elementary, Eli M., grade 5
• W.A. Young Elementary, Riley S., grade 5
• Walter Johnson Middle, Greyson F., grade 6

As the winning school, East Burke Middle School received the Lillian Butler Trophy, which is given each year in honor of Mrs. Butler, a long-time chief judge for the Spelling Bee. The News Herald sponsors the Spelling Bee each year.