Madison Students Mastering Languages Honored

More than 50 students were recognized this spring for excellence in world languages, and some received scholarship money and first-place awards for their achievements, including a student who won a poetry recitation contest.

Most of those students were recognized for their scores on the French, Italian, German and Spanish national exams given this spring.

For the National French Exam, sponsored by the American Association of Teachers of French, more than 3,000 students in the local chapter participated and over 103,000 students participated nationally.

Students first were ranked within their chapter, from first place to 12th, and top local scores then were sent to National Headquarters, where students were ranked nationally, from first place to 11th.

On the local level, 21 Madison students placed in the top 12 ranks. On both the local and national levels, five of those students earned top honors—two students tied for No. 1 ranking: Stephanie Deeb and Constance Kapp;  two students tied for second place: Emma Sheeleigh and Tyler Simeone; and Monica Young placed third.

For the national exam sponsored by the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese, taken by over 143,000 students, 37 Madison students were recognized for their high scores.

Students first were ranked nationally and then by the state. Students scoring from the 94th through the 100th percentiles receive the Premio de Oro (gold); students scoring from the 85th through the 94th percentiles receive the Premio de Plata (silver); students scoring from the 75th through the 84th percentiles receive a Premio de Bronce (bronze) medals. Students scoring at or above the 50th percentile through the 74th percentile are awarded Honorable Mention.

Of the 37 Madison students recognized, seven were gold medal winners, and 17 won silver medals.

The American Association of Teachers of Italian also sponsored a national exam. More than 5,000 students in 140 schools participated and five Madison students were recognized for their high scores on the exam.

All seven Madison students who took the national exam sponsored by the American Association of Teachers of German received awards for their scores: two students scored 90 percent or above on the exam, two earned silver certificates, and three received bronze certificates.

Also honored was Daniel Giraldo, who won a $1,000 college scholarship from the Sociedad Honoraria Hispánica. Forty of those awards are given across the U.S. to seniors who are members of the society. To apply, students need to write an essay in Spanish and record a video interview in Spanish with their teacher. This is the second year in a row a Madison student has received the award.

And Julia Guiheen won first place in the William Paterson Poetry Recitation contest. Hundreds of students from northern New Jersey participated in the contest, where contestants were judged on their pronunciation and intonation.