Marist Academy students fare well in national language examination; four get gold medals.
From left, Marist Academy sixth graders Alessandra Castillo, Sehaj Gill, Lucy Milback and Christina Yeras each earned a Gold Medal in the latest round of the National Spanish Examinations for middle schools.
The awards are sponsored by the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese, which promotes the study and teaching of the Spanish and Portuguese languages and their corresponding Hispanic, Luso-Brazilian, and other related literatures and cultures at all levels of education.
“Attaining a medal or honorable mention for any student on the National Spanish Examinations is very prestigious,” said National Director of the Exams Kevin Cessna-Buscemi. “The exams are the largest of their kind in the United States with over 150,000 students participating in this year.”
Marist Academy Spanish teacher Marisol Aguilar said she was very pleased with the students' performance this year.
"These medal winners are great examples of student from our middle school who consistently demonstrate dedication and discipline when it comes to learning a second language," Aguilar said. "I am proud of all of them and I look forward to supporting them as well as any other student who wants to become bilingual and learn Spanish at Marist."
The medal winners are. . .
6th grade, Pre-01 Gold Medal
• Alessandra Castillo
• Sehaj Gill
• Lucy Milback
• Christina Yeras
6th grade, Bronze Medal
• Grace Aguilar-Fernandez
• Catalina Ballesty
• Felipe Sanchez-Montalvo
7th grade, Silver Medal
• Peyton Von Bernthal
• Alaina Polsinelli
7th grade, Bronze Medal
• George Moussa
• Gabriella Nadeau
8th grade, Bronze
• Luka Cvetkovic
• Julia Housey
• Sophia Keoleian
• John Milback
• Jackson Plas
• Madeline Lawrence
More on the National Spanish Examinations:
The National Spanish Examinations are online, standardized assessment tools for Grades 6 -12, given voluntarily by about 4000 teachers throughout the United States to measure performance (interpretive communication) and achievement of students who are studying Spanish as a second language. The National Spanish Examinations are the most widely used tests of Spanish in the United States. In the most recent testing period, a total of 150,303 students registered for the National Spanish Examinations. 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 placed this program on the NASSP National Advisory List of Contests and Activities for 2017-2018.
Comments or questions? mkelly@ndpma.org.
Follow Notre Dame on Twitter at @NDPMA.
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. Notre Dame Prep 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 Marist Academy enrolls students in pre-kindergarten through grade eight. NDPMA is an International Baccalaureate "World School" and is conducted by the Marist Fathers and Brothers. It is accredited by 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