Senior year officially began on the morning of August 29 for the Charlotte Latin School class of 2026 at the Convocation Exercises, for which they donned their academic robes and gathered in Thies Auditorium. The 154 members of the senior class were joined by faculty and staff, family members, and the classes of 2027 and 2028, all formally marking and celebrating the beginning of a final year at Charlotte Latin. 

Chuck Baldecchi, Head of School, set the tone by asking the seniors about how they had felt on the first day of Kindergarten, and then urging them to reflect on how different they were today. However, he exhorted them to savor the present day, telling them: “This is your moment to lead Latin and leave it a better place than you found it.”

Tracey Vanneste, Interim Head of Upper School, celebrated the various achievements of the seniors — to cite just one example, 43 members of the class have already qualified as AP Scholars (some with honor or with distinction) — but made sure to tell them, “You are more than the sum of your accomplishments.” As she put it, “What truly sets you apart is your exuberant spirit.”

In his remarks, Maxwell Williams ’26, the vice president of Student Council, encouraged his classmates to consider the year not as an assortment of final Latin milestones, but as the first steps into the rest of their lives. He said, “As we begin our senior year, let's be present. Let's appreciate the people around us and the community that has nurtured us into the people we’ve become. And when this year comes to a close, let's not look back with sorrow that it ended, but instead with gratitude that it happened.”

The Convocation Address was given by Patrick Whalen ’99. The restaurateur and businessman cofounded the 5th Street Group, now a $40 million business whose restaurants include the Charlotte establishments La Belle Helene and Church and Union. To demonstrate his Latin bona fides, he showed up with copies of his school yearbook and a vintage edition of The Hawk Eye newspaper. Relaxed and funny, he encouraged members of the varsity football team to stand up, in anticipation of their home opener against Ravenscroft, and wondered if they still wore camouflage pants on game days. (The answer: yes, but not on this particular day because of the dress code for Convocation Exercises.)

Whalen reflected on the disparity between his relatively undistinguished academic career and the path — “coincidences and ironies and strange luck” — that led him to his current success. He particularly remembered the kindness that his classmates had shown him when he was new to Charlotte Latin and how much it had meant to him, and extrapolated that to a larger philosophy: “It’s very easy to look around and feel hopeless,” he said, “but there are always people who are looking to help.”

He extolled the value of curiosity, and how the pursuit of knowledge could be armor against ignorance and malice. “Grandeur is parading down the street,” he said. “Expertise is knowing you’re right when everyone around you is wrong — and having the patience to help them.”

Anisha Chandra ’26, Student Council treasurer, led the Pledge of Allegiance. Luca Bravo ’26, Student Council president, introduced Whalen. And Avery Bly ’26, Student Council secretary, ended Convocation with a moment of gratitude. “Try to be thankful for the struggles too,” she told her classmates. “The obstacles we’ve overcome, the pressure, and the setbacks have shaped us just as much as the happy moments. As we soak up our final year and eventually go our separate ways, let’s continue to carry that sense of gratitude with us and embrace the unknown.”