Many MICDS students earned awards in the 86th annual National French Contest, Le Grand Concours, a national competition sponsored by the American Association of Teachers of French. Nearly 30,000 students in all 50 states competed in the February/March 2021 event and were evaluated for their written, oral, and listening comprehension skills in French.
“We’re very proud of all of our students who chose to embrace this extra challenge in the midst of a challenging year and applaud their success,” said Upper School French Teacher Steven Crumb. “In Upper School, five MICDS students placed within the top 10 in our local chapter for their division!”
Below are the Upper School 2021 awardees:
Level 5AP
Nina Hamilton ’22 – Silver (ranked 8th nationally)
Level 5A
Selina Balci ’22 – Honorable Mention
Level 3A
Amara Autry ’23 – Honorable Mention
Allison Pfefferkorn ’23 – Honorable Mention
Philip Ralph ’23 – Honorable Mention
Level 2A
Madison Sineff ’24 – Silver (ranked 9th nationally)
Middle School French Teachers Zuowei Chang and Tricia Dimit also had great news to report from 7th and 8th grade French! In Middle School, eight students earned awards after taking the exam:
Level 1A
Amisha Poojari ’25 – Silver (ranked 9th nationally)
Carli Estrada Salazar ’25 – Honorable Mention
Natalie Benoist ’25 – Honorable Mention
Level 01A
Aiyla Ahmad ’26 – Silver (ranked 9th nationally)
Georgia Lochhead ’26 – Silver (ranked 10th nationally)
Ellie Chen ’26 – Honorable Mention
Delaney Janes ’26 – Mérite
Level 01B
Lilia Oulamine ’26 – Bronze
AATF President Anne Jensen said, “As the president of AATF, I would like to extend my special congratulations to those students who ranked nationally in Le Grand Concours. They have shown a superior level of French language skills, cultural competence, and commitment to French. It is my hope that these students will continue their interest in French and pursue study and travel opportunities as future ambassadors of the French language and the many cultures it represents. I would also like to congratulate the teachers who prepared nationally ranked students because without their dedication and hard work these students would not have attained their ranking. Finally, I would like to express my appreciation to the parents who have supported and advocated for the French programs in their children’s schools. Our Association is grateful to the dedication and hard work of everyone who shares our passion for the promotion of French.”
For more information about the National French Contest, please visit:
www.frenchteachers.org/concours.
Félicitations, étudiants!