It’s not the easiest language to learn, but Huntington High School students posted strong results on this year’s National French Exam, popularly known as “Le Grand Concours.”
Despite the challenging material, Huntington students have been winning awards on the national exam for years. That tradition continued in 2021, when a group of talented teenagers made their mark to the delight of high school French teacher Deidre Mayer, who has been encouraging her students to take the national test since joining the district’s faculty in 2000.
Huntington High School French teacher Deidre Mayer.
Le Grand Concours is an annual contest sponsored by the American Association of Teachers of French. Students of French in grades 1-12 take the written test and compete against their counterparts with similar educational background for prizes. Participants come from all 50 states and abroad. Students enter the competition through their respective French teachers. All students of French are eligible.
“This is the first year that the students took the exam online,” Mrs. Mayer said. “It’s no longer a written test. Some took it in the classroom and the majority took it at home. We did it in a hybrid fashion after school. Despite how difficult this year has been, students still wanted to challenge themselves and persevered. I am proud of their efforts. It’s very commendable.”
Over the years, the teacher who most members of her classes refer to as Madame Mayer has seen numerous students win high honors in the annual contest. The current school year continued that long history. Several Huntington students scored among the best in Suffolk and nationally for their level of study.
Huntington’s top performers included:
• Level 2A: Andrea Mani-Munoz placed ninth in Suffolk and 16th nationally.
• Level 2A: Jennifer Vallejho-Ortiz placed 14th in Suffolk and 21st nationally.
• Level 2A: Bryan Lizama placed 15th in Suffolk and 22nd nationally.
• Level 2A: Benjamin Edgar-McNerney placed 16th in Suffolk and 23rd nationally.
• Level 3A: Aislyn Franciscovich placed 14th in Suffolk and 20th nationally.
• Level 3A: Sophie Bradford placed 16th in Suffolk and 22nd nationally.
• Level 3A: Annika Galvin placed 17th in Suffolk and 23rd nationally.
• Level 3C: Dawin Preval placed sixth in Suffolk and 11th nationally.
• Level 3C: Doch-Annsler Antoine placed 10th in Suffolk and 16th nationally.
• Level 3C: Sergemio Cerome placed 25th in Suffolk and 32nd nationally.
• Level 4A: Cassidy Casabona placed 16th in Suffolk and 26th nationally.
• Level 4A: Mary-Grace Rorke placed 29th in Suffolk and 41st nationally.
• Level 4A: Sophie Laserson placed 30th in Suffolk and 43rd nationally.
Mr. Preval won a prestigious silver medal for his spectacular performance on the national exam. Messrs. Edgar-McNerney, Lizama and Antoine and Ms. Mani-Munoz, Ms. Vallejho-Ortiz, Ms. Franciscovich and Ms. Casabona all garnered Honorable Mention recognition.