JHS Students Earn National Ranking in French Contest
Sophomore Artwright Chinyama (left) in French 3 and Senior Bernadette Ebambi (right) in French 4.
Johnston High School Senior Bernadette Ebambi and sophomore Artwright Chinyama received bronze medals in Le Grand Concours national French competition, earning them National Laureate titles in the 86th annual event.
Le Grand Concours is sponsored by the American Association of Teachers of French (AATF). Students are evaluated on their reading and listening comprehension skills in French through a 60-minute online exam given in late March. Nearly 30,000 students nationwide competed in the 2021 event. Five other Johnston French students earned Honorable Mentions, and are also ranked among the top ten scores earned by Iowa French students: Senior Abigail Coon, junior Haley Lenderts, and sophomores Nathan Rivera, Anirudh Soni and Hezekiah Moyer. Their French teacher is Tamara Andrews.
“As the president of AATF, I would like to extend my special congratulations to those students who ranked nationally in Le Grand Concours,” said AATF President Anne Jensen. “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 the website: www.frenchteachers.org/concours.
Sophomores Nathan Rivera, Hezekiah Moyer, and Anirudh Soni received honorable mentions from the NFC Not pictured: Senior Abigail Coon and junior Haley Lenderts.