Fourteen CHS Graduates Earn Seal of Biliteracy Designation

For the 2017-18 school year, fourteen Collinsville High School seniors attained state recognition for excellent performance on the 2018 Illinois Seal of Biliteracy Exam and received an added decoration on their diplomas.  

The Illinois Seal of Biliteracy recognizes a student’s ability to effectively communicate in multiple languages.  All students first had to prove their ability to communicate in English based on their SAT/ACT scores. After that, students for Spanish and German were tested on listening, reading, speaking and writing in their 2nd language.  Students in Latin were tested on reading and translating in Latin.

Eleven students received the Seal for Spanish this year:  Blerta Beluli, Emma Sebesta, Emma Knoebel, Ana Bautista, Areli Escoto, Mariam Calderon, Jessica Rodriguez, Zilvia Montez, Edgar Acevedo, Madison Parker and Elian Lopez.  

Receiving a commendation towards the Seal in Spanish were: Venise Govan, Darianna Delrio, Emily Park, Manuel Barajas, Nick Suria, William Henze, Luke Moore, Kayla Tirey, Katie Schantz, Justine Oestricker, Emily Falbe, Zachary Bodnar, Jennifer Saavedra, Samantha Schmiedeskamp, Brandon Magadan, Heather Wingate, and Valerie Weeks.  

Three students achieved the Seal in Latin:  Jacob Sorge, Sarajane Nowman and Jason Landfried.

Receiving a commendation towards the Seal in Latin were: Manuel Barajas, Nathan Thompson, Brandon Magadan, Vaughn Beckman and Ana Bautista.  

 

In addition, three students received commendation towards the Seal in German: Zoe Recklein, Melissa Budnicki and Megan Love.

“We are beyond proud of these amazing kids.  Receiving the Seal of Biliteracy or a commendation towards the Seal is a HUGE accomplishment.  These students will be able to use these test scores to test out of classes at the college level, and will make themselves even more marketable in the workforce.  We couldn’t be more proud of them!” said Foreign Language Department Chair, Spanish Teacher Cara Kettler.