German studies students recognized for excellence

April 25, 2012

The following news release is shared on behalf of the Alaska Chapter of the American Association of Teachers of German. Congratulations to all student winners.

For more information, please contact:
Elizabeth Dick, Ph.D.
Chair, World Languages, South Anchorage High School
Dick_Elizabeth@asdk12.org

April 25, 2012

The Sixth Annual German Studies Awards Ceremony and Reception, sponsored by the Alaska Chapter of the American Association of Teachers of German (AATG), was held last night at East High School. The event recognizes middle, high and university students in Alaska who have achieved excellence in their German studies. ASD Superintendent Carol Comeau welcomed students to the event, and Herbert Eckmann, of Alaska Sausage and Seafood, spoke to students about his experience of immigrating to the United States in 1961 from Germany. Many of the students honored at this event are current ASD students or recent graduates.

Chugiak High School student Jessi McMullen and Eagle River High School student Cierra Steinke were honored as recipients of a Congress-Bundestag Exchange Scholarship. The exchange organization, jointly funded by the United States Congress and the German Bundestag, awards scholarships to students from the United States to study in Germany. McMullen and Steinke will each study at a German high school next year, and live with a host family.

ASD graduate and current UAA student Alan Massey was honored as the recipient of a Fulbright Teaching Assistant Scholarship. Massey will spend the next year working at a school in Germany, teaching English to students. Massey took his first German classes at Northern Lights ABC and at Service High School. UAA student Ben Woodland, was also honored for as recipient of a US Ambassadorial Scholarship.

UAA student Hannah Betrand received the German Learning Opportunities Website (GLOW) award given to an outstanding German student in each chapter of the AATG. Eagle River High School student Hannah Gerschel received the Langenscheidt award, recognizing an outstanding German student in German in each chapter of the AATG. The Langenscheidt publishing company sponsors this award, and Gerschel received a German-English dictionary along with a certificate of achievement. Ms. Kristi Senden of Chugiak High School received the Duden Teacher Award, granted each year to a teacher in each AATG chapter for excellence in the instruction of German.

The following ASD students received German High School Student of the Year awards:

Bartlett High School: Siroki Lino

Chugiak High School: Alyson Mercer

Dimond High School: Naomi Freeman

Eagle River High School: Wolfgang Ollsen

East High School: Emily Dabbs

Service High School: Peter Metzger and Leah Shannon

South High School: Nicole Ourso

West High School: Keelin Baughman.

German Middle School Student of the Year:

Hanshew Middle School: Christine Castro

Northern Lights ABC: Mary Burr and Hallie Moore

The Alaska Chapter of AATG honored high school students who scored competitively on the National German Exams given by the AATG. The exams are designed for Levels 2, 3, and 4 and approximately 23,000 students in the USA took them this year. Students scoring in the 70th percentiles nationwide received bronze awards, those in the 80th percentiles received silver awards and those scoring in the 90th percentiles received gold awards.

GOLD AWARDS:

Chugiak High School: Jackson Page

Interior Distance Education of Alaska: Hannah Beutler, Meret Beutler, and Johann Sells

Service High School: Molly Brockway and Adam Ritter

South High School: Tyler Kirn, Erik Oder, Madison O’Scannell and Lida Zakurdaew

SILVER AWARDS:

East High School: Astrid Williams and Jason Scott

Chugiak High School: Sarah Rackley and Ashleigh Bransky

Interior Distance Education of Alaska: Gerhard Sells

Service High School: Noah Dean, Emily Dreher, Ava Metzger and Rebekah Padgett

South High School: Patrick Nowka and Emma Reed

BRONZE AWARDS:

Chugiak High School: Emily Edwards and Svenna Lundell

Service High School: Aiden Bromaghin, William Garrod, Madina Ishmatova, Elaina Jewett, Claire Lubke, Nicole Paredes, Margaret Sewell and Leah Shannon

South High School: Nastazia Nogacki and Olivia Wito

The National German Exam of the AATG is designed for students enrolled in a traditional high school German language program from grades 9 to 12. Noteworthy were also results from students at the Rilke Schule, a K-8 immersion school for German in the Anchorage School District. A group of students from the immersion program took the Level III and IV exam, and these young learners showed the power of early learning in second language acquisition via their outstanding scores in the 70th, 80th, and 90th percentiles. The Alaska Chapter of AATG would like to congratulate:

RILKE – GOLD: Victoria Kuxhaus and Timo Schaetze

RILKE – SILVER: Rebecca Weese and Madeleine Oakley

RILKE – BRONZE: Jonas Fields, Naomi Oakley, Dylan Cerveny,Victoria Cooper and Gwendolyn Cooper

Photos of the winners: