[caption id="attachment_890" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="From left: Kylie Hayman, Jaellene Carson, Michael Houston, Maria Cooler, Sara Rauenhorst and teacher Ashley Byrd"]<a href="http://www.beaufortislandnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Schools-Spanish-Exam.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-890" title="Schools-Spanish Exam" src="http://www.beaufortislandnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Schools-Spanish-Exam-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a>[/caption]

Students from Ashley Byrd’s Spanish II classes at Beaufort High School attained national recognition for excellent performance on the 2011 National Spanish Examinations.

A total of five silver and four bronze medals along with 11 honorable mentions were earned this year.<!--more-->

“Attaining a medal or honorable mention for any student on the National Spanish Examinations is very prestigious,” said Kevin Cessna-Buscemi, National Director of the Exams, “because the exams are the largest of their kind in the United States, with 140,373 students participating in 2011.”

The National Spanish Examinations are administered each year in grades six through 12, and are sponsored by the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese (AATSP), of which Byrd is a member.

<strong>• Honorable Mention (Mención Honorífica)</strong> — Students scoring at or above the 50th percentile (national average) through the 74th percentile are awarded a Mención Honorífica:

Maddie Aune

Charlotte Cannon

Jessica Correll

Shannon Courtney

Courtney Coxwell

Kylie Hayman

Mitchell Nestler

Jessa Norton

Sara Rauenhorst

Abigale Shelby

Gabby Maynard

<strong>• Bronze Award (Premio de Bronce) </strong>— Students scoring from the 75th through the 84th percentiles receive a Premio de Bronce:

Jaellene Carson

Taylor Jones

James Rider

Arionna Russell

<strong>• Silver Award (Premio de Plata)</strong> — Students scoring from the 85th through the 94th percentiles receive a Premio de Plata:

Maria Cooler

Michael Houston

Reilly Kilpatrick

Janelys Villalta

Eliza Rhodes (This student scored in the 94th percentile in the nation.)

&nbsp;