At the end of January, students at Chatfield underwent the arduous process of the American Association of Teachers of German (AATG) National Exams. Classes ranging from German II to German V took the exam, and some very high results were achieved. So of course, some credit is due.

Chatfield is a rigorous school when it comes to German. It placed third in all of the schools in the CO/WY region, after all. The school is also recognized by the U.S. Department of State as a school of distinction for the German program. Furthermore, Chatfield is part of the German-American Partnership Program (GAPP).

With all of these expectations, students had quite a bit to bear. Still, Chatfielders took quite a few medals home. The total tally was 14 Gold, 5 Silver, and 11 Bronze. 

With the statistics said, here are the winners:

Gold Medal Winners: 

Third Year: Miles Nash, Emily Flanders, Desmond Decker, Kyle Fagan, & Xavier O’Keefe.

Second Year: Andrew Shearer, Tomas Asiala, Jeremy Felker, Dylan Grace-Mitchell, Sierra Harmon, Daniel Hill, Rachael Lott, & Hanna Rognerud.

Silver Medal Winners: 

Second Year: Thomas Ingram, Ashtyn Alabbasi, Adam Brandland, Stuart Buecher, & Tori Rognerud.

Bronze Medal Winners: 

Fourth Year: Jack Phillips & Sarah Beelaert.

Third Year: Kiara Keller, Thomas Donovan, Matthew Ashworth, & Jake Brautigam.

Second Year: Kristen Wright, Robert Erickson, Brock Larson,  Rebecca “Alex” Heatwole, & Myers Hoffman.

If the incentive of a medal and certificate aren’t enough, Gold Medal winners can also apply for the National Study Award. Students who make it through the competition can take a trip to Germany – a $4000 dollar prize. Furthermore, according to Ms. Hendrickson, bi-lingual students earn a multitude of benefits. Free college in Germany, better chances at applications to both jobs and colleges, and a $125K increase in lifetime earnings are all benefits to learning German. Clearly, the preparedness of Chatfield students is a cut above the competition in this process already.

Ms. Hendrickson has some advice for students of all kinds: “Deutsch ist wunderbar!”