6 Plainfield North Students Earn German Test Honors

PLAINFIELD, IL — Six Plainfield North High School students earned special honors for their achievement on the National German Exam, District 202 officials announced Thursday. The six were among 21 students from the school who took the rigorous exam.

Of the six students, junior Evan Al-Ashkar earned a Silberurkunde, or Silver Certificate, for scoring in the 80th to 89th percentile. Five others — seniors Samantha Bowser and Jack Gaw and juniors Fayaz Khalid, Jessica Gaw and Nicole Posont — earned Certificates of Achievement for scoring in the 50th to 69th percentile.

"Especially coming off of a year and a half of remote learning, these students have made excellent strides in their language learning in comparison to their peers across the nation," PNHS German teacher Jennifer Ibanez said in a statement.

Students who place in the 90th to 100th percentile on the exam are eligible to receive the AATG/PAD Study Trip Award and have a chance to spend three or four weeks living in Germany and attending classes and various cultural excursions. No Plainfield North students ranked this high on this year's exam.

"We are proud of all of our students for taking the National German Exam which is a very challenging exam that requires a lot of hard work and skill," Ibanez said.

The following is a list of all Plainfield North students who took the National German Exam.

• Samantha Bowser (senior)
  
• Jack Gaw (senior)
• Margaret Lasher (senior)
• Jackson Folkers (senior)
• Gabriel Suvaca (senior)
• Ainsley Altenbern (senior)
• Evan Al-Ashkar (junior)
  
• Mary Conley (junior)
• Conner Bowen (junior)
• Hyunseo Kim (junior)
• Fayaz Khalid (junior)
  
• Jessica Gaw (junior)
• Nicole Posont (junior)
• George Dimas (junior)
• Brandon Palillero (junior)
• Benjamin Cummings (junior)
• Nashwan Choudhury (junior)
• Hudson Hiatt (junior)
• Michael Janis (junior)
• Tyler Boehnke (junior)
• Robert Lowenstrom (junior)