Fifty-seven world language students from Darlington School attained national recognition for excellent performance on the 2012 National Spanish Examinations. Together, they earne4d one gold medal, three silver medals, six bronze medals and 47 honorable mentions.
“Attaining a medal or honorable mention is very prestigious,” said Kevin Cessna-Buscemi, national director of the exams. “These exams are the largest of their kind in the United States, with 143,641 students participating in 2012.”
Level 1 bronze medalists included Sasha Munchova, Anna-Lena Binkowska, Matthew Heiken, Emma Lewis, Natalie Collins, Kwabe Kumi, Burton Dulaney, Alex Zegarra, John Goldin, Cameron Daniel, Busby Brooks and Liz Phelps.
Darlington’s Level 2 silver medalist was Spencer Fields. Level 2 Honorable mentions were awarded to Jack Tunnell, Alexander Roberts, Will Crawford, Alyse Redden, Braxton Ballard, Bo Yoon Choi, Callee Manna, Anna Cantrell, Ethan Pender, Daniel Morris, Ian Winder, Mary Austin Morgan, Vera Huang, Noah Katz, Jade Cox, Oreofe Aderibigbe, Viki Pateritsas, Sarah Rogers, Hunter Manning, Jordan Beck, Mallory Mullen and Elisa Montanaro.
The school’s Level 3 gold medalist was Isabela Martignon, with a silver medal going to Connor Hallett. Level 3 honorable mentions were awarded to Alexandra Porto, Avery Cypress, Anna McKenzie, Nancy-Ann Hubler and Helene de la Motte.
A Level 4 silver medal went to Bethany Cagle, with bronze medals awarded to Alyson Atwell and Wesley Samples. Level 4 Honorable mentions went to Hector Picon, Will Warren, Chas Williams, Indra Sofian, David Thoms, Sarah Cait Hubbard, Amita Reddy and Rostam Zafari.
Level 5 honorable mentions were given to Asa Crawford, Keenan Freyberg and Remy Jennings.
A Level 6 bronze medal was awarded to Meredith Gaffney, with honorable mentions going to Alex Martignon, Jesse Baker and Anna Grace Rutledge.
“Meredith, Jesse and Anna Grace finished first, second and third in the State of Georgia at Level 6 Regular,” said Jim Linos, chairman of the world languages department. “Level 6 is the highest level given on the NSE. Additionally, Alex Martignon finished second in the state in Level 6 Bilingual, and Isabela Martignon finished third in the state in Level 3 Bilingual. While this is the third year the NSE has been administered, it is the first year that Darlington has participated. I am very proud of our students’ performance!”
Sponsored by the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese, the National Spanish Examinations are administered each year in grades 6-12.
