Sycamore School had 33 Middle School students participate in the 2021 National Spanish Exam (NSE), administered by the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese (AATSP). Seventeen 8th graders and 16 7th graders - after six months of preparation - completed a two-part, 80-minute online exam gauged to assess their Proficiency (Reading and Interpreting) and Achievement (Vocabulary and Grammar). Of the 33 Sycamore MS participants, a whopping 27 placed nationally in the 50th percentile of participants or higher.
National Gold Medal Finalists (95th percentile or higher)
8th Grade:
Larissa Lo - (Level 2/10th grade HS Spanish exam, Classroom Experience pool) - 97th. Larissa was one of THREE Level 2 gold medalists from the state of Indiana.
7th grade:
Audrey Alberts - (Level 1/9th grade HS Spanish exam, Outside Experience pool) - 98th
Shivani Desai - (Level 1/9th grade HS Spanish exam, Classroom Experience pool) - 96th
Audrey and Shivani were two of FOUR Level 1 gold medalists from the state of Indiana.
National Silver Medal Finalists (85th-94th percentile)
9th grade:
Lauren Janeira - (Level 1/9th grade HS Spanish exam, Outside Experience pool) - 93rd*
*Lauren graduated from Sycamore in 2020 and is currently an HS Freshman at University High School. Her mother - Jane Crawford - works with Katrina Rodriguez and the Sycamore Kindergartners.
8th Grade:
Alexei Lipkovich - (Level 3/11th grade HS Spanish exam, Outside Experience pool) - 92nd**
Emily Ganter - (Level 2/10th grade HS Spanish exam, Classroom Experience pool) - 93rd
Samuel Rudavsky - (Level 2/10th grade HS Spanish exam, Outside Experience pool) - 91st
**Alex opted to take the HS Level 3 Spanish Exam and competed in the second-most competitive student pool, Outside Experience (for students who have spent 3+ years in a school with an FLES program).
7th grade:
Liam Hendry - (Level 1/9th grade HS Spanish exam, Outside Experience pool) - 91st
Evelyn Cunningham - (Level 1/9th grade HS Spanish exam, Outside Experience pool) - 90th
Kaia Starnino - (Level 1/9th grade HS Spanish exam, Outside Experience pool) - 85th
Emma Shi - (Level 1/9th grade HS Spanish exam, Classroom Experience pool) - 85th
National Bronze Medal Finalists (75th-84th percentile)
8th grade:
Insia Zaidi - (Level 3/11th grade HS Spanish exam, Classroom Experience pool) - 83rd***
Nate Liang - (Level 2/10th grade HS Spanish exam, Outside Experience pool) - 82nd
Neela Gussick - (Level 2/10th grade HS Spanish exam, Classroom Experience pool) - 76th
Mikey Cardwell - (Level 2/10th grade HS Spanish exam, Outside Experience pool) - 75th
***Insia opted to take the HS Level 3 Spanish Exam and competed in the third-most competitive student pool, Classroom Experience (for students who have spent fewer than 3 years in a school with an FLES program OR have not taken yet taken a course at their Level of testing [in Insia's case]).
7th grade:
Oscar Hyatt - (Level 1/9th grade HS Spanish exam, Outside Experience pool) - 84th
Justin Puno - (Level 1/9th grade HS Spanish exam, Outside Experience pool) - 84th
Alex Cheng - (Level 1/9th grade HS Spanish exam, Outside Experience pool) - 77th
Riti Tandra - (Level 1/9th grade HS Spanish exam, Classroom Experience pool) - 76th
National Honorable Mention (50th-74th percentile)
8th grade:
Nour Ghoneim - (Level 2/10th grade HS Spanish exam, Outside Experience pool)
Siri Vuppalanchi - (Level 2/10th grade HS Spanish exam, Outside Experience pool)
David Jiang - (Level 2/10th grade HS Spanish exam, Classroom Experience pool)
Lukas Fiur - (Level 2/10th grade HS Spanish exam, Outside Experience pool)
Ainsley Bale - (Level 2/10th grade HS Spanish exam, Outside Experience pool)
7th grade:
Annamaria Ebersole - (Level 1/9th grade HS Spanish exam, Outside Experience pool)
Connor Kacena-Merrell - (Level 1/9th grade HS Spanish exam, Outside Experience pool)
Arnay Garhyan - (Level 1/9th grade HS Spanish exam, Outside Experience pool)
Mukund Sagi - (Level 1/9th grade HS Spanish exam, Classroom Experience pool)
Congratulations to each of these students. According to Sycamore Spanish teacher, Brandon Fitzsimmons, they "have worked very passionately, responsibly, and diligently to go up nationally against students 2-3 years older than they, and could not be more deserving of our pride and respect."