Students at West Hartford’s St. Timothy Middle School earned medals in the Le Grand Concours national French competition.

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St. Timothy Middle School (STMS) recently participated in the 82nd annual event of Le Grand Concours – a national competition sponsored by the American Association of Teachers of French.

Students were evaluated for their written, oral and listening comprehension skills in French. More than 85,000 students in all 50 states competed in the 2017 event. French students who rank nationally demonstrate a superior level of global responsibility, language skills and commitment to excellence and dedication.

For seventh graders, 5,064 students took the Level One Test and more than 60 percent of the STMS students have been recognized for their achievements. In seventh grade the school had 11 students who earned “Mention Honorable.” They were Reagan Baker, Roland Barnes, Ashley Casciani, Douglas Doyle, Brayden Hendsey, Julia Lazzaro, Brianna Lebrun, Ryan Murphy, Jervis Nunez. Charlotte Olin, and Mia Porcello.

The school also had five students who were Lauréat National winners who scored in the 75th percentile or higher. Two, Grace Flynn and Ashleigh Liu, were Bronze Medal winners who scored in the 75-80th percentile. They had one Silver Medal winner, Page Warren, who scored in the 85-90th percentile. And finally they had two Gold Medal winners who scored in the 95-100th percentile, Lucy Benoit (who placed second in the state of Connecticut chapter) and Alexander Rosenthal (who placed first in the state of Connecticut chapter of the test).

In the eighth grade over 20,000 students took the Level One Test and again more than 60 percent of the St. Timothy students have been recognized for their achievements. First there were seven “Mention Honorable” winners who scored in the 50-70th percentile. They were Miles Bryant, Michael Culligan, Maeve Dabney, Declan Ferrell, Nolan Horan, Griffin Macary, and Isabella Morsheimer.

The school then had eight students who were Lauréat National winners who scored in the 75th percentile or higher. Aidan Deneen and Chloe Lacouture were both Bronze Medal winners who scored in the 75-80th percentile. An amazing five students earned the Silver Medal by scoring in the 85-90th percentile: Christopher Baldini, Nicole Chen, John Murphy, Conor O’Shea and Emma Wilkos. And finally they had one Gold Medal winner, Matthew Deneen, who scored in the 95-100th percentile.

When asked about how the students were able to score so well, Mrs. Kath Thomsen, French Teacher, commented, “I am so proud of every single student who took the exam, and I admire their ability to strive to continually learn, improve in, and value the study of French.”

Principal Tara Bellefleur commented, “The skills that students learn in French at St. Timothy Middle School transfer to their studies across the curriculum. Their diligence, determination and dedication is exceptional. Their success is a by-product of their hard work!”