National German Exam Scores 2010!

National German Exam 2010 Results: Montgomery Bell Academy: Levels 2, 3, 4
Instructor- Mr. Jonathan Sawyer

On 15th January, 2010, all 23 students of German II, Honors German III, and AP German IV took the National German Exam. Level 1 does not have an exam. This year, nearly 25,000 students in the nation took the exam. MBA’s students did very well, as shown by the data below.


Ø 23 of 23 -- all students earned Certificates of Merit from the American Association of Teachers of German (AATG) for their scores at or above the national 70th percentile


Ø 20 of 23 students scored at or above the national 80th percentile


Ø 17 of 23 students scored at or above the national 85th percentile


Ø 16 of 23 students scored at or above the national 90th percentile


Ø 13 of 23 students scored at or above the national 95th percentile


Special Congratulations go to the following students whose scores qualified them to apply for a study-trip award from the AATG:

Level II:

Marshall Sorenson -scored in the national 99th percentile, and placed 8th of 271 students at level 2 in the TN chapter. This exceptional performance qualifies him to apply for the AATG-PAD study trip to Germany in summer 2010.

Joe Scherrer – scored in the national 99th percentile, and placed 8th of 271 students at level 2 in the TN chapter. This exceptional performance qualifies him to apply for the AATG-PAD study trip to Germany in summer 2010.

Andrew Holmgren – scored in the national 96th percentile and placed 19th of 271 students at level 2 in the TN chapter. This exceptional performance qualifies him to apply for the AATG-PAD study trip to Germany in summer 2010.

Stephen Bedard – scored in the national 96th percentile and placed 19th of 271 students at level 2 in the TN chapter. This exceptional performance qualifies him to apply for the AATG-PAD study trip award to Germany in summer 2010.

Daniel Rundberg – scored in the national 95th percentile and placed 23rd of 271 students at level 2 in the TN chapter. This exceptional performance qualifies him to apply for the AATG-PAD study trip award to Germany in summer 2010.


Level III:

Max Werthan – scored in the national 97th percentile and placed 13th of 161 students at level 3 in the TN chapter. This exceptional performance qualifies him to apply for the AATG-PAD study trip award to Germany in summer 2010.

Jonathan Golab – scored in the national 96th percentile and placed 15th of 161 students at level 3 in the TN chapter. This exceptional performance qualifies him to apply for the AATG-PAD study trip award to Germany in summer 2010.

Matt Vanek – scored in the national 96th percentile and placed 15th of 161 students at level 3 in the TN chapter. This exceptional performance qualifies him to apply for the AATG-PAD study trip award to Germany in summer 2010.

Will McCaskill – scored in the national 94th percentile and placed 20th of 161 students at level 3 in the TN chapter. This exceptional performance qualifies him to apply for the AATG-PAD study trip award to Germany in summer 2010.

Alexander Hornbuckle – scored in the national 94th percentile and placed 20th of 161 students at level 3 in the TN chapter. This exceptional performance qualifies him to apply for the AATG-PAD study trip award to Germany in summer 2010.

Level IV:

Pat Killian – scored in the national 99th percentile and placed 3rd of 82 students at level 4 in the TN chapter. This exceptional performance qualifies him to apply for the AATG-PAD study trip award to Germany in summer 2010.

Sam Denney – scored in the national 99th percentile and placed 5th of 82 students at level 4 in the TN chapter. This exceptional performance qualifies him to apply for the AATG-PAD study trip award to Germany in summer 2010.

Patrick Clarke – scored in the national 97th percentile and placed 10th of 82 students at level 4 in the TN chapter. This exceptional performance qualifies him to apply for the AATG-PAD study trip award to Germany in summer 2010.

Michal Zienkiewicz – scored in the national 94th percentile and placed 11th of 82 students at level 4 in the TN chapter. This exceptional performance qualifies him to apply for the AATG-PAD study trip award to Germany in summer 2010.

Special Congratulations also go to the following students:
Their scores would qualify them for application to the study trip awards program, but other requirements of application preclude these students from applying.

Paul Brazil – scored in the national 98th percentile and placed 13th of 271 students at level 2 in the TN chapter.

Wesley Wilson – scored in the national 96th percentile and placed 9th of 82 students at level 4 in the TN chapter.

AP Spanish Avatars

After a few test runs, the students in the AP Spanish class have posted their first Avatars for a grade. Their task was to promote a concert in Nashville. Their avatar had to represent someone who would fit the style of music of the concert and students were assessed on fluency, accuracy and variety of vocabulary and grammar, as well as organization and cohesiveness.
http://mbaapspanish.blogspot.com/

Student Bloopers!

We have all experienced the hilarity of a well-placed student blooper. Now we can have them published! Check it out at rogueclassicism.com and enter your best blunders today!

Ancient Peruvians were stressed out!

It seems that Peruvians who lived who lived between 550 A.D. and 1532 suffered from high levels of stress. Hair recovered from the remains of 10 different individuals from several sites around Peru reveal high levels of cortisol, a hormone which is secreted by the body in response to real or perceived threats. The hormone finds its way to nearly every part of the body, including hair.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34241697/ns/technology_and_science-science/

Wilson Language Grant Applications

Calling all 10th and 11th grade language students:

"MBA is proud to announce new language study awards to approximately fifteen to twenty 10th and 11th grade students for this coming summer. Those students who excel in Chinese, French, German, Latin, or Spanish will be eligible after two years of study to apply for a special grant to study for four to six weeks in a foreign country. Our hope is that these opportunities will strengthen student interest and expertise in these languages, develop MBA’s language program overall, and provide greater opportunities for our community both during their time at MBA and for their applications to college."

View the whole announcement on MBA's homepage. Very exciting!

German Students attend Berlin Wall Events @ Vandy

On Thursday, November 5th, 22 German students joined Herr Sawyer at Vanderbilt for the 20th anniversary celebration of the Fall of the Berlin Wall. Invited by the Max Kade Center for European and German Studies to bring an MBA delegation to the event, Herr Sawyer organized the fieldtrip for his students. The evening began with a panel discussion on "Germany and Europe Twenty Years after the Fall of the Wall and its Aftermath." Panelists included John Kornblum, former U.S. Ambassador to Germany, Victor Ashe, former U.S. Ambassador to Poland, and Lue Veron, Minister Counselor and Head of Political and Development Section of the Delegation of the European Commission in Washington, D.C.

Following the discussion, students were treated to a pizza dinner with other middle Tennessee high school students in the Law School Cafe. The evening concluded with a screening of the documentary "Ode to Joy and Freedom." The film details the construction of the Berlin Wall, its history, and its fall in 1989.

The evening was organized by Professor emeritus of Political Science at Vanderbilt Donald Hancock.

Odysseus and Veterans Day

Looks like the NYT has an interesting piece about Odysseus for Veterans Day, asking this central question: "Who is the veteran, and how does he stand in relation to his native land and people?"