Veni, vidi, vici! LSMSA students win awards at Foreign Language Festival

LSMSA students placed in 22 categories and won 1st Place overall in the Tier II division. 
Students from the Louisiana School for Math, Science, and the Arts (LSMSA) competed against more than 300 students from across Louisiana at the annual Foreign Language Festival, held at Southeastern Louisiana University (SELU) on April 5.
           
The group participated in French, Spanish and Latin competitions involving recitation, oral speaking and performances in front of a panel of judges. Of all of the competitions, LSMSA students placed in 22 categories and won 1st Place overall in the Tier II division.
           
In French, the following students placed in their respective levels:
  • French Prose (Level 1): 2nd place - Natalie Gleason (’20)
  • French Prose (Level 2): 1st place - Julianne Le (’20)
  • French Prose (Level 3): 2nd place - Sara Moore (’20)
  • French Prose (Level 4): 1st place - Colt Crain (’19)
  • French Poetry (Level 1): 3rd place - Adelaide Soileau (’21)
  • French Poetry (Level 2): 1st place - Siobahn Stanley (’20)
  • French Poetry (Level 3): 1st place - Sophia Abbahou (’21)
  • French Poetry (Level 4): 3rd place - Acacia Coker (’20)
  • French Extemporaneous Speaking (Level 3): 1st place - Colton Hayes (’21)
  • French Extemporaneous Speaking (Level 4): 2nd place - Manjistha Lakhotia (’19)
  • French Music: 2nd place - Chirstan Bates (’20), Rachel Judson (’19) and Lucy Silverman (’21)
In Spanish, the following students placed in their respective levels:
  • Spanish Prose (Level 1): 2nd place - William Kim (’21)
  • Spanish Prose (Level 3): 1st place - Samantha Bordelon (’21)
  • Spanish Prose (Level 4): 1st place - Avaion Ruth (’19)
  • Spanish Poetry (Level 2): 1st place - Sanele Harmon (’21)
  • Spanish Extemporaneous Speaking (Level 1): 1st place - Camille Seymour (’21)
  • Spanish Extemporaneous Speaking (Level 2): 2nd place - Sara Mixon (’20)
  • Spanish Extemporaneous Speaking (Level 3): 3rd place - Mary Hutson (’21)
  • Spanish Extemporaneous Speaking (Level 4): 1st place - Ashlyn Beaty (’19)
  • Spanish Native Speaker Translation: 1st place - Juan Cecchini (’19)
In Latin, the following students placed in their respective levels:
  • Latin Translation (Latin I): 1st place - Sydney Schroedter (’19)
  • Latin Translation (Latin II): 2nd place - Garrett Pattison (’19)
In addition to the competitions, students were able to partake in campus tours and view a dance presentation by some of SELU's Panamanian students.The group was chaperoned by Senior Lecturer of Spanish Dr. Maria Sanchez, Instructor of French Dr. Natalie Malti and Instructor of Latin Morris Tichoner.

According to Tichenor, the students enjoyed themselves and were proud of their accomplishments during the event.
           
“Our students showed some impressive school spirit,” he stated. “During the awards ceremony, they synchronized Ric Flair-style 'Woo!'s at every first place win, and during the ride home, they spontaneously burst into the Alma Mater.”
           
This is the first year that Latin was included in the competition, and event planners have hopes to expand upon the competitive offerings in years to come.
           
“I'd love to see our Latin students compete in oral prose and poetry recitations and even extemporaneous speaking similar to the French and Spanish events,” said Tichenor. “I think they could have a blast demonstrating those skills.”

LSMSA’s participation in the event was made possible by the LSMSA Foundation’s Student Enrichment Fund, which covered a portion of travel expenses for the trip.
           
In addition to French, Spanish and Latin, LSMSA’s Languages Department also offers courses in Chinese, Arabic, and German and will reinstate Greek in the 2019-2020 school year. For an in-depth look at course offerings, visit www.LSMSA.edu/languages.
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