PRESS RELEASE
Students from New Canaan Country School’s Upper School division (grades 7-9) participated in the 2024 National World Language exams in March and April yielding sixty-four medals of honor as well as state and national distinctions of merit. Of particular note, seventh-grade Spanish student Abigail Reilly of New Canaan, eighth grader Eva Juarez-Lace of Shelton and ninth grader Hunter Harper of New Canaan each received first-place recognition nationally as a result of their perfect scores.
Seventeen French language students received recognition on the 2024 National French Exam. Ninth-grader Opal Thompson of Stamford, eighth-grader Charlotte Parker of New Canaan and seventh-grader Max Tangen of Norwalk received gold medals. Students who achieved silver and bronze honors at the national level included: (silver) Lily Arneill of Darien, Caroline Irwin of New Canaan, Avery Brooks of New Canaan, Grayson Richards of Ridgefield and Hanna Von Steenburg of Wilton; (bronze) Jack Engle of New Canaan, Scarlet Zorub of Rowayton, Cameron Ableman of Rowayton, Marin Gokgol-Kline of Darien, George Lilley of New Canaan, Sammy Wagner of Rowayton, Cece Thompson of Stamford, Nathan Roth of Darien and Emily Jantzen of Rowayton.
“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.
Thirty six Spanish language students were recognized for their exceptional achievement on the 2024 National Spanish Exam including: seventh-graders Abigail Reilly of New Canaan, Charlotte Tocks of Norwalk, eighth graders Emma Bernard of Greenwich, Ann Hanson of New Canaan, Lucy Anne Kurtz of Darien, Van Osberg of Darien, Olivia Parker of Darien and ninth graders James DiBiasio of Darien, Samantha Flores of Stamford, Michaela Springer of Redding, Katharine Tocks of Norwalk, Eva Juarez-Lace of Shelton and Hunter Harper of New Canaan all of whom received the gold medal distinction with scores of 95% and above. Silver medals were awarded to seventh-graders Ava Dell’Aquila of New Canaan, Keira Smith of New Canaan, Ashley Teles of New Canaan, Daisy Winn of Rowayton, Annie Mallozzi of Norwalk, Ellie Ryder of Darien, Jackson Falkenstein of Norwalk and Max Snow of Norwalk, eighth-graders Claire Hanson of New Canaan, Justin Mouzon of Norwalk, Will DeSantis of Stamford, Caroline Bernard of Greenwich, and ninth-graders James Moody of Darien, Cullen Smith of New Canaan, and Mateo Medoza-Silva of Norwalk. Bronze medals were awarded to seventh-graders Hudson Burr of New Canaan, Anna Israelov of New Canaan, Oscar Knowles of Rowayton and Ava Lenhard of New Canaan, eighth-graders Valentino Alexander Rodríguez of Greenwich, Paul Vartanian of Darien and ninth-graders Bowen Fry of Rowayton and James Knowles of Rowayton.
“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.
Eleven Latin language students were recognized at the highest levels for their performance on the 2024 National Latin Exam including: (Gold, Summa Cum Laude) seventh-graders JC Bowman of New Canaan and Sloane LeBaron of New Canaan; (Silver, Maxima Cum Laude) eighth-graders Liv Aronson of New Canaan and Clare O’Brien of New Canaan and seventh-graders Juliet Chattaway of Darien, Martin Flanagan of Ridgefield, Oliver Krikorian of New Canaan, Erik Roomet of New Canaan, and John Morawa of New Canaan; (Bronze, Magna Cum Laude) eighth-grader Henry Irwin of New Canaan and seventh-grader Topher Kern of New Canaan.
“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.
New Canaan Country School is a co-ed, independent, day school for students in Pre-K (ages 3 & 4) through Grade 9. Located at 635 Frogtown Rd, on an 85-acre campus in New Canaan, the school serves families living throughout Westchester, NY and Fairfield, CT Counties. For more information, please visit www.countryschool.net.
