Middle and Upper School students earn national and state awards in Le Grand Concours National French Contest

Each spring, students studying French participate in the Le Grand Concours National French Contest sponsored by the American Association of Teachers of French. The national exam tests students’ listening comprehension, grammar, and vocabulary in French at five levels of difficulty, from Level 5 (the most advanced) to Level 1. Students are eligible for Gold (95-100% on the exam), Silver (85-94%), and Bronze (75-84%) Awards at the national level, as well as state-level honors.

The full list of SPA national- and state-level award winners is below. Congratulations and toutes nos félicitations to these outstanding French students!

Level 5:
Silver Award: Alex Moore ‘22 (National Rank 9th, State Rank 2nd)
Bronze Award: Sarah Oppenheim ‘22 (National Rank 13th, State Rank 3rd)
Minnesota Honors : Annika Brelsford ‘22, Sophie Cullen ‘22

Level 4:
Silver Award: Ayla Rivers ‘24 (National Rank 13th, State Rank 1st)
Bronze Award: Maggie Fried ‘23 (National Rank 17th, State Rank 3rd)
Minnesota Honors: Clea Gaïtas Sur ‘23

Level 3: 
Gold Award: Evan McCarthy ‘23 (National Rank 7th, State Rank 2nd)
Bronze Awards: 
Maddy Fisher ‘23 (National Rank 12th, State Rank 7th)
Quenby Wilson ‘23 (National Rank 12th, State Rank 7th)
Bev O’Malley ‘23 (National Rank 13th, State Rank 8th)
Eve Sampsell-Jones ‘23 (National Rank 13th, State Rank 8th)
Maya Sachs ‘23 (National Rank 14th, State Rank 9th)
Minnesota Honors: Parisa Ghavami ‘23, Max Shaffer ‘23

Level 2:
Gold Awards: 
Claire Kim ‘24 (National Rank 5th, State Rank 1st)
John Christakos ‘24 (National Rank 7th, State Rank 2nd) 
Silver Awards: 
Eliza Farley ‘24 (National Rank 8th, State Rank 3rd) 
Samantha Gilats ‘24 (National Rank 9th, State Rank 4th) 
Audrey Senaratna ‘24 (National Rank 10th, State Rank 5th)
Jane Higgins ‘24 (National Rank 11th, State Rank 6th)
Lindsay Browne ‘23 (National Rank 14th, State Rank 9th)
Orion Kim ‘24 (National Rank 14th, State Rank 9th)
Millicent Benson ‘24 (National Rank 15th, State Rank 10th) 
Bronze Awards: 
Oliver Conrod-Wovcha ‘24 (National Rank 12th, State Rank 7th)
Howard Huelster ‘26 (National Rank 12th, State Rank 7th)
Heidi Deuel ‘23 (National Rank 13th, State Rank 8th)
Sila Liljedahl ‘23 (National Rank 13th, State Rank 8th)
Natalie Vogenthaler ‘24 (National Rank 13th, State Rank 8th)
Minnesota Honors : Raven Glaser ‘25, Emma Krienke ‘24, Henri Peltier ‘24, Kylie Ringness ‘24, Naomi Straub ‘22, Valerie Wick ‘23

Level 1:
Gold Awards: 
Adrienne Gaylord ‘21 (National Rank 4th, State Rank 1st)
Madelyn Moser ‘25 (National Rank 4th, State Rank 1st)
Bora Mandic ‘25 (National Rank 5th, State Rank 2nd)
Silver Award: Amalia Laguna ‘24 (National Rank 9th, State Rank 3rd) 
Bronze Awards: 
Liza Thomas ‘25  (National Rank 11th, State Rank 4th)
Franny Wagner ‘26 (National Rank 12th, State Rank 4th)
Elle Wright ‘25 (National Rank 13th, State Rank 5th)
Maren Overgaard ‘26 (National Rank 14th, State Rank 6th)
Elise Pickens ‘25 (National Rank 14th, State Rank 6th)
Minnesota Honors: Charlotte Goings ‘24, Nathan Mann ‘22, Siri Pattison ‘24
Minnesota Honors Middle School:  Taylor Barkwell ‘25, Hazel Bieganek ‘26, Jacob Colton ‘25, Maeve Duncan ‘26, Reya Kandaswamy ‘25, Taryn Karasti ‘26, Rohan Kharbanda ‘25, Srina Lakkundi ‘25, Elizabeth Tuttle ‘26, Allan Wang ‘26, Olympia Wolff ‘25

Level 1C:
Silver Awards: 
Adem Rivers ‘27 (National Rank 9th, State Rank 3rd)