National Recognition Earned for John Jay Middle School French Students

KATONAH, NY — Several John Jay Middle School students earned recognition after volunteering to participate in the National French Contest in March.

The annual contest, sponsored by the American Association of Teachers of French, invites students of French in first through 12th grade in all 50 states to take a written test to compete for prizes against students with similar educational backgrounds, said a district spokeswoman.

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Four seventh-grade students and 11 eighth-grade students participated in 2016 Secondary Contest. 

One seventh-grade student placed in the top 95 percentile nationally and earned a gold medal. Two eighth-graders also placed in the 95th percentile, four placed in the 90th percentile, earning silver medals, and four additional students won bronze medals by placing in the 85th percentile nationally. In addition, several students received honorable mention.

The rankings were based on 5,201 students who took the test at the seventh-grade level and 21,791 who competed at the eighth-grade level, district officials said.

“This is a really great accomplishment for [the students] to see how they rank against other French students in the country,” said JJMS French teacher Christine Haddad.

Photo caption: John Jay Middle School students took part in the National French Contest. Photo credit: Courtesy of the Katonah-Lewisboro School District.