World Language Success: PCS Students Shine in National Exams

At Portland Christian High School, students have the opportunity to study one of four world languages – French, Japanese, Latin, and Spanish. This spring, our language students participated in national language exams, demonstrating their academic excellence and personal dedication. We’re proud to share their impressive results from the 2025 testing season.

French – Le Grand Concours

French teacher Mme. Olivia Stearns was pleased to announce the following awards from the 2025 Grand Concours (National French Exam):

French I
• Mention Honorable – Iliya Demchenko
• Médaille de Bronze – Elda Ermias

French II
• Mérite Honorable – Calla Bye
• Mérite Honorable – Addison Johanson

“Though not all the French students participated due to illness, everyone did their best and showed amazing growth in French. Je suis fière de chaque élève!” – Mme. Stearns

Latin – National Latin Exam

Latin teacher Mrs. Rachel Humphrey shared her excitement as Latin III students earned top honors in the 2025 National Latin Exam:

Gold Medal (summa cum laude) – it was the third consecutive gold for all three students!
• Susan Asaya
• William Loffink
• Sarah Zallee

Silver Medal (maxima cum laude)
• Chandler Mom

(Not pictured: Sarah Zallee)

“Although not all my students received awards, they all worked incredibly hard. Their proficiency and confidence in Latin have grown dramatically this year. I’m so proud of every one of them!” – Mrs. Humphrey

Japanese – National Japanese Exam

PCS Japanese III students took the 2025 National Japanese Examination (Level 1 High School Regular) and made us proud, reported teacher Ms. Vicki Bridges.

• Gold Level Award – Justin Sandu (12th grade)
• Participation Award – Dana Wong (11th grade)

“This is the first time in recent years we’ve had students take this test. Japanese is a tough language, but they’ve worked hard and made amazing progress—in speaking, reading, writing (yes, even KANJI!), and cultural understanding!” – Ms. Bridges すごいね (Great job), Justin and Dana! We’re proud of you!

We celebrate not only these award recipients, but all our world language students for their dedication to learning new languages and cultures. These achievements reflect the hard work of both students and teachers, and we’re excited to see how this language learning will continue to impact their futures. Félicitations, gratulatio, おめでとう, and ¡felicidades!