SPANISH STUDENTS POST STRONG SCORES IN ANNUAL NATIONAL EXAM

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May 14, 2024

For information on admission to Notre Dame Prep, please click here. 

Notre Dame Prep students fare well in national Spanish language examination with six receiving medals.

Two gold medals, two silver, two bronze medals and nine honorable mentions highlight a strong showing by Notre Dame Prep's middle school students in the most recent edition of the National Spanish Examinations. 

Pablo De Nigris (7th grade) and David Rodriguez (7th) both earned gold medals, and Daniella Sacco (6th) and Ilyze Gabrielle Tarriman (7th) each won silver medals in the annual competition sponsored by the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese. 

Additionally, Brielle Gendreau (7th) and Seth Silver (6th) earned bronze medals in the contest that recognizes student achievement in the study of Spanish and to stimulate further interest in the teaching and learning of Spanish.

The AATSP Exams is a program initiated by the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese (AATSP) in 1957, the National Spanish Exam (NSE) is administered annually to grades 6 through 12 and serves as a cornerstone of academic achievement in Spanish language education. 

As the largest of their kind in the United States, the NSE attracted over 80,000 student participants in 2024. Achieving gold, silver, or bronze status in the NSE opens doors for students to explore a variety of scholarship opportunities provided through the AATSP Exams program. 

A total of nine middle school students earned honorable mentions this year and they are listed below. 

Natalie Esseily (6th)
Adit Gill (6th)
Cole Nahra (6th)
Annalise Urek (6th)
Alexis Bigelow (7th)
Lily Buero (7th)
Leah Dekutoski (7th)
Emily Bassett (8th)
Vivian Swick (8th)

About the National Spanish Examinations
The National Spanish Examinations, sponsored by the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese, are a motivational contest to recognize student achievement in the study of Spanish and to stimulate further interest in the teaching and learning of Spanish. They are online, standardized assessment tools given voluntarily by about 4,000 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. The National Spanish Examinations are recognized by many administrative and teaching associations and organizations at the local, state and national levels. For more information, visit www.aatsp.org.

For information on admission to Notre Dame Prep, please click here.

Comments or questions? mkelly@ndpma.org

About Notre Dame Preparatory School
"At Notre Dame Prep, we inspire our students to become the best versions of themselves. We challenge them through an experience of academic excellence, focused on active, project-based learning. We invite them to explore a world of opportunities beyond the classroom. We guide them as they grow in spirituality within a community strong in its Catholic and Marist identity."

Notre Dame Preparatory School is a private, Catholic, independent, coeducational day school located in Oakland County. Notre Dame Preparatory School's upper school 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 Prep's middle and lower schools enroll students in pre-kindergarten through grade eight. All three schools are International Baccalaureate "World Schools." NDP is conducted by the Marist Fathers and Brothers and is accredited by the Independent Schools Association of the Central States and the National Association of Independent Schools. For more on Notre Dame Preparatory School, visit the school’s home page at www.ndpma.org.