News

World Language Students Shine in National Competitions

Middle and Upper School students earn levels of distinction in three languages.
In national world language competitions this school year, our students demonstrated their knowledge of and proficiency in Latin, Spanish, and French. Congratulations to the following students and their teachers for these tremendous accomplishments when tested against their peers across the nation.

2019 National Latin Exam | Drs. Ralph Covino and Sean Caulfield, faculty

Middle School

For the Intro to Latin exam, recognition is earned for exam scores in excess of the national average and ribbons are awarded to the top performers.

Awarded Certificates
Abigail Mann
Margaret Compton
Reagan Ziegler
Kayla Rivers

Awarded Certificates with Ribbons
Evelyn Lytle
Harlan Porfiri (for her near-perfect paper)

Upper School

For the Latin I through IV exams, recognition is earned for scores in excess of the national average and medals are awarded to the top performers.

Ninth grade

Awarded the Cum Laude Certificate
Laci Holt
Molly Gallagher
Kate Youmans
J.C. Wiedmer

Awarded the Magna Cum Laude Certificate
Catherine Lynch
Caroline Farris
Madeline Davidson

Awarded the Gold Medal
Liza Rogers
Emmy Richey
Ellie Taliaferro

*Special note: each girl enrolled in Latin II earned level of recognition and each girl enrolled in Latin II Honors earned a Gold Medal.


10th grade

Awarded the Cum Laude Certificate
Addie Youmans
Valarie Nevans

Awarded the Silver Medal
Alex Kutchins

Awarded the Gold Medal
Anna von Kessler
Emma Brandao

11th grade
Awarded the Magna Cum Laude Certificate
Astra Burke

12th grade
Awarded the Silver Medal
Claire Calhoun  (Overall record: 1 Cum Laude Certificate, 3 Silver Medals, 1 Gold Medal across her 5 years of Latin at GPS)

2019 National Spanish Exam | Dr. Erin Montero Rangno, World Languages Department Chair; Kate Kerekes, Marinda Cauley, and Erin Bas, faculty

In March, Spanish Honor Society and Honor Spanish 2 students took the National Spanish Exam, which includes sections on achievement (vocabulary and grammar) and proficiency (listening and reading). More than 146,000 students took this test around the country. The National Spanish Examinations are administered each year in grades 6 through 12, and are sponsored by the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese. Twenty-five of our students were nationally recognized for their achievements on this exam.

Honorable Mention
Olivia Burns, Level 2
Emily Kreek, Level 2
Cara Paty, Level 2
Laila Siyam, Level 3
Kshama Patel, Level 4
Shanzeh Rizvi, Level 4
Erin Maxwell, Level 4

Bronze Medal
Chloe Nicola, Level 2
Abby Claire Prescott, Level 2
Astha Sinha, Level 3
Alice Martin, Level 4
Avie Owensby, Level 4

Silver Medal
Savannah Friant, Level 2
Emma Hamilton, Level 2
Caroline Hutcherson, Level 2
Sarah Kalla, Level 2
Aarushi Modi, Level 2
Chloe Newman, Level 2
Ava Scotchie, Level 2
Lily DuPlooy, Level 3
Katie Day, Level 3
Gracie Spence, Level 4
Alex Center, Level 4

Gold Medal (better than 95% of students who took the exam)
Olivia Scotchie, Level 2
Hunter McVay, Level 3

Finally, Tennessee also compiles scores of all students in the state who took the exam and notes those who demonstrated true excellence. Hunter McVay placed 17th for Level 3, which is a huge accomplishment.  


2019 National French Contest | Cécile Lainé, Erin Bas, and Dr. Sean Caulfield, faculty

The National French Contest is a proficiency test in listening and reading, organized by the American Association of Teachers of French. GPS students excelled in this competition this year by winning fourteen medals across all language levels. The first category of award is a “Mention Honorable” for students who placed between the 50th and 70th percentile at the national level. Twenty Five GPS students received an Honorable Mention.

French 1 Middle School
Rebecca Hayslett
Williamson Keller
Riley Archambault
Kennedy Alverson
Colette Smith
Claire Mitchell
Sawyer Hunnewell
Caroline Rowe
Caroline Riede
Meghan Ray

French 2
Ella Ingalls
Mary Kate Johnson
Willa Mirmelstein
Minah Sadrabadi
Charlie Haynes
Louisa Bohner

French 3
Emma Dexter
Kenzie Grisar
Leonor Vines
Mia Iannios
Priyanka Sud
Isabel Hester
Alison Williams

French 4
Mary Beth Popes
Sana Nisar

The second category of awards are medals for students who placed in the 75th percentile and above at the national level. Fourteen GPS students ranked nationally and won medals.

French 1 Middle School (17,000 participants)
Ranked 11th | Bronze medal: Evalynn Mann
Ranked 10th | Bronze medal: Sophie McGee
Ranked 9th | Silver medal: Megan Jones
Ranked 8th | Silver medal: Chloe Coffman
Ranked 7th | Silver medal: Mary Chapman Hayes and Alden Mazo

French 2 (17,000 participants)
Ranked 12th | Bronze medal: Ally Daniels
Ranked 11th | Bronze medal: Ellie Fivas
Ranked 8th | Silver medal: Manasa Makam
Ranked 6th | Silver medal: Lauren Thacker

French 3 (15,000 participants)
Ranked 16th | Bronze medal: Anna Henderson
Ranked 15th | Bronze medal: Talley Lyons
Ranked 9th |  Silver medal: Annie Thrash

French 4 (9,000 participants)
Ranked 15th | Silver medal: Laura Graff
 
Back