Students receiving the bilingual seal for French include (back, left to right) Madalyn Baily, Irina Maiorov, James Thomas, Eric Fenimore; (front, left to right) Noelle Judd,, Matthea Fung, Maddalena Mereghetti and Adia Fortin. (Not pictured: Lance Metcalf)
Emily Xu, Ian Sandborgh, Levi Kuykendall, and Malin Eidenbenz completed requirements for the bilingual seal in German. (Not pictured: Helena Welch)
LAPS News:
Twenty-four Los Alamos High School seniors were recognized at a ceremony for earning the New Mexico Bilingualism-Biliteracy State Seal. This seal will be printed on their high school diplomas. Students were presented certificates and cords which they will wear during the graduation ceremony May 23.
Families, friends, staff members, and administrators were on hand to congratulate the students on this achievement. The ceremony included a flamenco dance performance by (names of dancers) dancers from Dance Arts Los Alamos (DALA), a piano performance by LAHS junior Adrian Koo, and student speeches by Yvette Garcia, in Spanish; Nailah Quartey, in French; Kalliope Welch, in German; and Henry Gans, Cecilia Pratt and Sophia Saunders, in Latin.
This seal is an award given by a school, school district, or state in recognition of students who have studied and attained proficiency in two or more languages by their high school graduation. The vision of the program is to help students recognize the value of their academic success and see the tangible benefits of being bilingual. According to Thomasinia Ortiz-Gallegos, Ed.D, Santa Fe Community College, “Learning/becoming proficient in more than one language can deeply enrich one’s education, career experiences, and opportunities.”
This is the seventh year that LAHS has participated in this program. Including this year’s recipients, 194 students from Los Alamos High School have received the New Mexico Bilingualism- Biliteracy State Seal since its inception.
“I am genuinely proud of each one of you,” Principal Eric Ziegler said during the ceremony. “I know from experience, and failing at it, that learning a language is really hard. Through all the challenges, these students stuck with it, and now carry something that will open doors for the rest of their lives — the ability to connect with people in a way that goes deeper than words. That’s not nothing. That’s huge.”
“So to our 25 honorees: thank you for representing our school so beautifully. We celebrate your outstanding accomplishment and can’t wait to see where you go from here. Congratulations to all of you!”
Los Alamos High School is one of only a few across the state to participate in the Bilingualism- Biliteracy State Seal program.
Madalyn Baily, Adia Fortin, Matthea Fung, Eric Fenimore, Noelle Judd, Irina Maiorov, Lance Metcalf, Maddalena Mereghetti and James Thomas completed all requirements for French.
Five students completed all requirements for German, including Malin Eidenbenz, Levi Kuykendall, Ian Sandborgh, Helena Welch and Emily Xu.
Henry Gans, Cecilia Joy Pratt and Sophia Saunders completed all requirements for Latin.
Students who complete all requirements for Spanish are Samuel Brown-Salazar, Annalysiya Mata, Celia Pesiri, Thomas Quintana, Maribel Ramos-Chacon, Nicole Rios-Dominguez and Maya Snowden.
The LAHS World Languages department includes Louise Foliot (French); Cristine Faseler (German); Peninah Wolpo (Latin); and Isabel Duque and Maria Romero (Spanish).
Seven students earned the New Mexico Bilingualism-Biliteracy State Seal in Spanish, including (left to right) Thomas Quintana, Nicole Rios-Dominguez, Maya Snowden, Maribel Ramos-Chacon, Celia Pesiri, Annalysiya Mata and Samuel Brown-Salazar.
Latin students Cecilia Joy Pratt, Sophia Saunders and Henry Gans.
Los Alamos High School world language teachers Maria Romero, Louise Foliot, Isabel Duque, Cristine Faseler and Peninah Wolpo.