New Canaan Country School Students Earn National Recognition on World Language Exams

Fifteen French language students received recognition on the 2022 National French exam. In addition to Anna’s platinum medal award, ninth-grader Daniel Marin of Easton and seventh-grader Opal Thompson of Stamford received gold medals. Students who achieved silver and bronze honors at the national level included: (silver) Dario Sanon of Stamford, Chris Santa of Norwalk, Sasha Valdes of New Canaan, Katherine Maliakal of Stamford, Itzel Llamas of Norwalk, Kayla Sanon of Stamford, Aubry Grant of Darien, Katya Bank of Westport and Lily Arneill of Darien; (bronze) Matthew Schell of Stamford, Emily Fonner of New Canaan, and Simeran Samra of Stamford. 

“The outcomes of these exams show the hard work and motivation our students have put into their language studies all year,” said Upper School World Language Teacher Christiane Lundquist, who teaches French and Spanish.

Twenty-five Spanish language students were recognized for their exceptional achievement on the 2022 National Spanish exam including: seventh-graders Liany Otero of Norwalk, Cullen Smith of New Canaan, Michaela Springer of Redding, and Katharine Tocks of New Canaan; eighth-graders Caitlyn Edwards of New Canaan and Jonathan Gavidia of Norwalk all of whom received the gold medal distinction with scores of 97% and above. Silver medals were awarded to seventh-graders Claire McCormick of Rowayton, James Moody of Darien, Rowan Stewart of Darien, Samantha Flores of Stamford, eighth-graders Caroline Coniglio of New Canaan, Brett Humphrey of Darien, and ninth-grader Caroline DiBiasio of Darien. Bronze medals were awarded to seventh-graders Camilla Calderwood of Darien, Bowen Fry of Rowayton, William Gallagher of Rowayton, Lillian Kanter of New Canaan, Blake Williams of Norwalk; eighth-graders Capone Andrade of Bridgeport, Julia Coniglio of New Canaan, Eleanor Levinson of Darien, Madeline Maliakal of Stamford, William McKeown of Darien, Hilary Miller of New Canaan and ninth-grader Eleanor DuPont of New Canaan. 

“Students worked diligently throughout the year on becoming excellent foreign language learners and we are all very proud of their success on these exams.” said Upper School Spanish Teacher, Lorena Chávez. 

Twelve Latin language students were recognized at the highest levels for their performance on the 2022 National Latin exam. In addition to Lucy Ward who received a Certificate of Merit Award–Cum Honore Maximo Egregio, additional students to be distinguished included: (Gold, Summa Cum Laude) eight-graders Consuelo Bowman of New Canaan and Ryan Pauta of Stamford; (Silver, Maxima Cum Laude) seventh-graders Jack Beauclair of New Canaan, Zoe Brody of Darien, Max Calia of New Canaan, Hunter Harper of New Canaan, and Mateo Mendoza-Silva of Norwalk; (Bronze, Magna Cum Laude) ninth-graders Penelope Arredondo of Rowayton and Annie Harrigan of New Canaan, and seventh-graders Jack Harrington of Norwalk and Tyler Jefferson of Darien.

“These outstanding and well-deserved honors are a testament to the consistent emphasis on two of our school’s core values – courage and curiosity: the courage to be a risk-taker and mistake-maker as a language-learner, and  the curiosity to learn and grow in the discipline,” said World Language Program Coordinator and Lower School (Grades 1-4) Spanish Teacher Sean Robb.