Two gold and four silver medals highlight a strong showing by Notre Dame Prep students in the most recent edition of the National Spanish Examinations.
Junior Montserrat Dorantes and freshman Christopher VanDieren both earned gold medals and Sean Higgins (10), Lorena Dorantes (9), Evaristo Garcia-Reyna (9) and Joseph Joppich (9) won silver medals in the annual competition sponsored by the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese.
“Attaining a medal or an honorable mention for any student on the National Spanish Examinations is very prestigious,” said Kevin Cessna-Buscemi, national director of the exams. “The exams are the largest of their kind in the United States with more than 157,000 students participating in recent years.”
Eight bronze medals also were awarded to NDP students Peter Miklas (12), Madeleine Fazio (12), Julia Ebben (12), Anjali Reddy (10), Joonhee Jang (10), Kyle Conroy (10), Megan Obear (9) and Joshua Montpas (9).
A total of 26 NDP students earned honorable mentions: Caterina Nassi (12), Dominic Maniaci (12), Marisa Meyer (12), Sydney Pauls (12), Shane Mecca (12), Samantha Fierens (12), Julia Walter (11), Maria Sanchez-Rodriquez (11), Halaina Jimenez (11), Diego Collazo (11), Eduardo Corral (11), Rodolfo Aguilar-Fernandez (11), Richelle Wilson (11), Katherine Spengler (11), Thomas Robbins (11), Rebecca Petrella (11), Lauren Jones (11), Gabrielle Jacoby (11), Eileen Haig (11), Gabriella Gonzales (11), Luke Adams (11), Anthony VanDieren (11), Malini Makherji (10), Nina Romzek (10), Juliet Jacoby (9) and Adam Anderson (9).
Middle division honors
In Notre Dame’s middle division, the following students also scored well on the Spanish National Exam.
Notre Dame seventh-grader Jack Lintol earned a gold medal and Charlotte Milback, also a seventh-grader, won a silver. In addition, the following MD students earned bronze medals: Brooke Cousins (6), Lars Boehme (7), Amishi Mahajan (7), Maggie Miklas (7), Rachel Rook (7), Nikhil Simon (7) and Amelia Cumming (8).
“Honor” awards were conferred to Allyson Heaman (6), Anthony Zaleski (6), Pedro Cabral (6), Maria Donato (7), Ingrid Keller (7), Ethan Kocheril (7), Isabella Nadeau (7), Elizabeth Scheer (7), Lindsey Creek (7), Miguel Martinez-Garcia (7), Sana Muqueem (8), Varun Sinha (8), Nathan Perkins (8), Ishwar Surendran (8) and Isabel Collazo (8).
About the National Spanish Examinations
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. They are the most widely used tests of Spanish in the United States. In the spring of 2014, a total of 154,268 students participated in the online version of the exam. The National Spanish Examinations are recognized by many administrative and teaching associations and organizations at the local, state and national levels. The National Association of Secondary School Principals has placed this program on the NASSP National Advisory List of Contests and Activities for 2015-2016.
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About Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy
Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy is a private, Catholic, independent, coeducational day school located in Oakland County. The school's upper division enrolls students in grades nine through twelve and has been named one of the nation's best 50 Catholic high schools (Acton Institute) four times since 2005. Notre Dame's middle and lower divisions enroll students in jr. kindergarten through grade eight. All three divisions are International Baccalaureate "World Schools." The Marist Fathers and Brothers sponsor NDPMA's Catholic identity and manages its educational program. Notre Dame is accredited by the National Association of Independent Schools, the Independent Schools Association of the Central States and the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement. For more on Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy, visit the school's home page at www.ndpma.org.