Jonathan Alder Spanish students recently participated in the National Spanish Examinations where several students were recognized with top prizes. Pictured are eighth through eleventh grade students who participated in the exams. Last row: Tyler Hilbert, Emily Walker, Lauren Abend, JT Harms, Zoe Kanter, Grace Salzler and Levi Honingford. Fourth row: Aiden Ventresca, Will Engle, Mason Fields, Ashley Warren, Elizabeth Chen, Cami Tonti, Elizabeth Lombardi, Hannah Belau and Ava Wehner. Third row: Jack Baird, Nathan Clark, Katie Pack, Phillip Greenbaum, Matthew Quinones and Madison Shaw. Second row: Natalie Taylor, Morgan Hicks, Eva Boeckl, Olivia Catanella, Maddie Davis, Joe Tucker, Brooklyn Banks, Grace Palmatary and Gloria Cruz Rodriguez. Front row: Hope Shoemaker, Amber Little, Maggie Malone, Renci Ricker, Olivia Zuro, Natalie Heflin and Mary Ferrito. Not pictured: Kayla Devore, Taylor Horne, Jackson McCoy, Evelyn McDaniel, Gracee Myers, Baylor Petzinger, Dennis Rosales, Monica Santiago, Phillip Scott, Nora Sheridan, Grace Walker, Hannah Yates, Brett Yoder, Andy McGlaughlin, Garrett Ferguson Sarah Harp, Max Wehner, Alex Huggins, Nora Squires and Clair Grywalski.
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Several students from Jonathan Alder High School were recognized for their participation in the 2019 National Spanish Examinations (NSE).
Participants earned a total of one gold, six silver and 10 bronze medals along with 53 honorable mentions.
“We are very proud of all our students for their hard work and dedication to learning a new language and culture,” said Alder Spanish teacher Lindsay Dollinger. “It’s not always easy but they know how worth it is to be able to communicate with so many more people, and they know it will help them be more employable in the future.”
Eighth grader Dennis Rosales placed second in the state of Ohio for his performance on the bilingual exam.
More than 146,000 students participate in the event nationwide.
The examinations are administered for grades 6-12.
Exams are given voluntarily by 4,000 teachers throughout the United States to measure performance (interpretive communication) and achievement of students who are studying Spanish as a second language, according to the NSE website.
From 1957 to 2005, the exams were administered in a paper and pencil format and since 2006, the NSE have been administered in an online format.
Dollinger and Jessica Flere, both Spanish teachers at Jonathan Alder, worked with the students in preparation for the exam.