Spelling bee entrant gets misspelled kudos

CHARLOTTE, N.C., Dec. 17 (UPI) -- A middle school student in Charlotte, N.C., returned to his school after a spelling bee to find a congratulatory sign filled with misspellings, his dad says.

Joe Smith said when his son, Michael, returned to Carmel Middle School Wednesday after his involvement in a spelling contest, he quickly noticed a pair of misspelled words on the school sign congratulating his efforts, The Charlotte (N.C.) Observer said.

Smith said the sign not only misspelled congratulations, but even offered an incorrect spelling of his son's first name. The misspelling of Michael was not reported and the congratulations error was tentatively blamed on scrunched signboard letters.

But the seventh-grader, who finished third in the multischool spelling competition, found humor in the misspellings.

"Just thought this was funny for them to honor a spelling bee winner with incorrect spelling," Smith said. "My son just laughed!"

A school spokeswoman told the Observer a student had created the misspelled message, which was immediately corrected once the errors were noticed.