Latin student Sarah Berning and her teacher, Peninah Wolpo. Courtesy/LAPS photo

Sabrina Wilcox, Sophia Pieck and Lena Ronning, recipients of the German bilingual seal, pose with their German teacher Cristine Faseler. (Not pictured: Felix Lorenc). Courtesy/LAPS

LAPS News:

Twenty-nine 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 24.

Families, friends, staff members, and administrators were on hand to congratulate the students on this achievement.

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.

This is the sixth year that LAHS has participated in this program. Including this year’s recipients, 170 students from Los Alamos High School have received the New Mexico Bilingualism-Biliteracy State Seal since its inception.

“We are extremely proud of these students and this accomplishment,” LAHS Principal Renee Dunwoody said. “It is a testament to the hard work and dedication they have put into mastering a second language.”

Los Alamos High School is one of only a few across the state to participate in the Bilingualism-Biliteracy State Seal program.

Students who completed all requirements for French this year are Marina Archuleta, Rebecca Beaux, Sadie Evans, Amelia Gelfand, Uxue Sansinena and Claire Whitley.

Four students completed all requirements for German, including Felix Lorenc, Sophia Pieck, Lena Ronning and Sabrina Wilcox.

Sarah Berning completed all requirements for Latin.

Students who complete all requirements for Spanish are Michael Bane, Aram Belian, Xiaran “Jonathan” Chen, Zury Erazo-Rojas, Alondra Garcia, Antonio Griffin, Linnhtet Htoon, Jenifer Legarda-Marquez, Paula Marti-Arce, Axel Niklasson, Yuridia Perez, Annabelle Rosette, Martin Sayre, Olivia Schmidt, Ryan

Segundo, Valeria Serrano- Marquez, Tirryn Sutherland and Sofia West.

The LAHS World Languages department includes Louise Foliot (French); Cristine Faseler (German); Peninah Wolpo (Latin); and Isabel Duque and Maria Romero (Spanish).

French students Uxue Sansinena, Amelia Gelfand, Sadie Evans, Claire Whitley and Marina Archuleta with their teacher, Louise Foliot. (Not pictured: Rebecca Beaux). Courtesy/LAPS

Eighteen students earned the New Mexico Bilingualism-Biliteracy State Seal. in Spanish, including (back, left to right): Aram Belian, Michael Bane, Axel Niklasson. (second row, back): Zury Erazo-Rojas, Anabelle Rosette, Yuridia Perez, Alondra Garcia, Tirryn Sutherland, Valeria Serrano-Marquez, Jenifer Legarda-Marquez, Xiaran Chen (“Jonathan”), Martin Sayre, Olivia Schmidt, Sofia West and Paula Marti-Arce; (kneeling, left to right): Ryan Segundo, Antonio Griffin and Linnhtet Htoon. Spanish teacher Isabel Duque is pictured on the left. Courtesy/LAPS