Eight French students who study with either Dr. Pamela Pears or Dr. Max Shrem took a national competition sponsored by the American Association of Teachers of French (AATF), the Grand Concours exam. All achieved top-20 scores when evaluated on their written, oral, and listening comprehension skills in French.

“Students volunteer to take this exam in their own free time. We have no review sessions, and the test itself is not focused on specific content,” Pears says. “I am beyond proud to announce that eight of our students of French at St. Andrew’s took this test, and all eight have ranked nationally in the 90th annual event.”

Students are ranked nationally and in a statewide AATF chapter, with Level 5 being the highest, taken by the smallest number of high school students.

In Level 5, taken by 1,393 students nationwide:

• Eleni Murphy ’25 - 3rd place statewide, 7th nationwide, silver medal
• Saskia Hood ’25 - 3rd place statewide, 7th nationwide, silver medal 

In Level 4, taken by 4,712 students nationwide:

• Marc Dahlhoff ’27 - 2nd place statewide, 8th nationwide, gold medal 

In Level 3, taken by 8,866 students nationwide:

• Sophie Hansen ’27 - 1st place statewide, 9th nationwide, silver medal
• Connie Kang ’26 - 2nd place statewide, 10th nationwide, silver medal
• Steele Malkin ’27 - 6th place statewide, 17th nationwide
• Abigail Delvalle ’26 - 7th place statewide, 18th nationwide

And in Level 2, taken by 9,407 students nationwide:

• Jessica Tian ’27 - 1st place statewide, 13th nationwide, silver medal 

Meanwhile, Dr. Philip Walsh’s Latin students had an opportunity to showcase their scholarship when it comes to the roots of romance languages like French. Over a dozen St. Andrew’s Latin students were among the more than 100,000 who took the annual National Latin Exam, sponsored by the American Classical League and the National Junior Classical League. 

The test offers material for beginner to advanced students and awards top performers based on each separate exam’s annual, national average score. Students are tested on grammar and vocabulary, mythology, Roman culture, derivatives, and translation skills on the National Latin Exam.

St. Andrew’s students sat for Latin Reading Comprehension Exams, each with 36 questions; test-takers who score above the national average for their exam earn certificates and medals.

This year, 15 Saints won awards for their performance as Latin scholars.

 

Taking the Advanced Latin Reading Comprehension Exam:

• Henry Bird ’27 earned a magna cum laude certificate, a third-place win;
• Peter Bird ’25 earned earned a maxima cum laude certificate and a silver medal;
• Alice Fitts ’27 earned a magna cum laude certificate, a third-place win;
• Ian McDonnell ’27 earned a maxima cum laude certificate and a silver medal;
• Madeleine Lasell ’25 earned a maxima cum laude certificate and a silver medal;
• Finn Lorentzen ’25 earned a magna cum laude certificate, a third-place win;
• Josephine Xie ’27 earned a summa cum laude certificate and a gold medal.

Taking the Intermediate Latin Reading Comprehension Exam:

• Maggie Adle ’27 earned a cum laude certificate, a fourth-place win;
• Josie Denny ’25 earned a magna cum laude certificate, a third-place win;
• Seth Gerdeman ’28 earned a magna cum laude certificate, a third-place win;
• Coco Holden ’27 earned a summa cum laude certificate and a gold medal;
• Jane Knox ’27 earned a magna cum laude certificate, a third-place win;
• Sol Bean Lee ’25 earned a magna cum laude certificate, a third-place win;
• Oliver Mize ’25 earned a cum laude certificate, a fourth-place win;
• Kayden Murrell ’25 earned a summa cum laude certificate and a gold medal.

Taking the Beginning Latin Reading Comprehension Exam:

• Jinny Baek ’28 earned a summa cum laude certificate and a gold medal;
• Lindsey Liu ’28 earned a magna cum laude certificate, a third-place win.

A language-assessment win isn’t just a feather in a Saint’s cap—it also shows their dedication, and that of their instructor, to mastery of new languages and understanding of different cultures! Congratulations to all!