Irvington High School Students Take High Honors on National Greek Exam

IRVINGTON, NY - Thirteen students at Irvington High School who took the National Greek Exam, which is the only standardized exam on ancient Greek in the country, received awards for their high scores.

The competitive exam was administered in two categories, Beginning Attic Greek and Intermediate Attic Greek, and students answered a series of multiple-choice questions that tested their reading comprehension and analysis, ability to understand ancient Greek and apply their knowledge to English grammar and vocabulary, according to a district spokesman.

Based on the students’ scores, Silverman said Irvington High School was the highest ranked public school and placed sixth among 39 other schools, most of which were private schools and colleges, nationwide.

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“I am extremely proud of the students for their accomplishments, and even more proud that they want to study and explore the rich world of the ancient Greeks and their language,” Silverman said.

“Learning Greek is not an easy task, and they have taken to it with enthusiasm and zeal. Very few people can claim to have knowledge of ancient Greek as great as these students, and they have overcome numerous hurdles to be able to read some of the greatest literature, history and philosophy the world has ever produced in its original language, as well as understand their own language in a way that few others can,” he said.

The following students received awards for outstanding performance:

For intermediate Greek, Clara Montgomery and Nicholas Panjwani received red ribbons for High Honors, while Naomi Gordon received the green ribbon for Honors.

For beginning Greek, Stephanie Ades, Zoe Mermelstein and Eleni Papapanou received blue ribbons for Highest Honors; Sofia Bazdekis received the red ribbon for High Honors; and Hope Gray, Yeesoon Jeon, Samantha Lapine and Atsuyo Shimizu received green ribbons for Honors.

Photo caption: Irvington High School students received awards after taking the National Greek Exam. Photo credit: Courtesy Irvington Union Free School District.