Five Latin I students at Richmond Montessori School received praise for successful completion of the National Latin Exam; Nine more placed highly on the National Spanish Examination.
Offered under the joint sponsorship of the American Classical League and the National Junior Classical League, more than 154,000 students from all 50 states and 15 countries applied to take this year’s National Latin Exam in March. The American Classical League offers four levels of commendations to honor students who perform well.
· -Micaela Wibberly and Molly McCue earned a gold medal, with a summa cum laude certificate.
· -Alex McQuilkin and Asha Iyer each earned a silver medal, with a maxima cum laude certificate.
· -Jeri Newmann earned the highest honors for honorable mention, with a magna cum laude certificate.
“It is extremely rare for a school to have 100 percent of its students earn such distinctions,” says Katie Wood, language and history teacher.
Additionally, the five eighth-graders elected to participate in the Classical Association of Virginia’s Latin Tournament. More than 715 students from 27 Virginia schools participated in this tournament. Fourteen students from independent schools in the state earned a commendation, including all five students from Richmond Montessori School.
“All five of our students were awarded a summa cum laude certificate, the highest honors of honorable mention. Again, 100 percent recognition is incredible,” added Katie Wood.
Additionally, nine eighth-graders performed highly on the National Spanish Examinations, taken in April. 152,726 students took the exam nationally, while the national average for this test is 257 points, the nine RMS students scored no lower than 310. Every RMS student placed and performed at the bilingual level.
RMS graduate Micaela Wibberly achieved a perfect score on the exam. For her high marks, she received a Spanish dictionary, which was presented at eighth-grade graduation on June 4, 2013.
“These results are incredibly impressive and speak to the small, intimate middle school program at RMS and the individualized attention allowing students to reach their potential,” says Amy Humphreys, Director of Advancement.
