THREE local schools have been put on the map after a number of their students excelled in a global language competition recently.
Students at Renmark North School, Renmark and Glossop High School participated in the annual Language Perfect competition in week 8 of term 1.
Years 4, 5, 6, and 7 students at Renmark North focused on Greek while students at Renmark High and Glossop High received awards from multiple languages.
Renmark High placed first globally in its category and Spanish and French teacher Jasmine Sotiroulis said she was proud of her students.
“Renmark came first out of 201 schools,” she said.
“Although I teach French and Spanish, I encourage students to try other languages.
“I let the kids go to make their own choices and it gives them the opportunity to learn a language they may not necessarily have exposure to.
“Some children are inspired when they learn another language and decide to take it further and as a language teacher, that’s just a reminder of how special languages are and how committed and dedicated my students are.”
Renmark High School siblings Meegan, year 8, and Lachlan, year 10, placed first and second in the school and Lachlan said his parents were “extremely proud”.
“We could work on Language Perfect at home so my sister and I were on it every night and there was a lot of rivalry in our household,” he said.
“Meegan focused on French while I did French, Italian and Spanish.
“Mum is trying to get us to speak French at home now and teach her what we know.
“Meegan and I want to travel in the future and Language Perfect has taught us so much about languages and culture… by the time we’re ready to travel we might be speaking French in France.”
Fifty-seven students from Renmark North School participated in the competition and two of the highest scorers came from non-Greek backgrounds.
Year 7 student Jayda came first in the world for Greek under her category and said it felt “amazing”.
“I love Greek because it’s different to other languages,” she said.
“It’s challenging but I love it.
“I’ve been at Renmark North since kindy so I’ve learnt Greek the whole time and it’s lots of fun.
“Language Perfect taught me some new words and I learnt a lot about the culture.
“I hope to take Greek further and travel to the country one day.”
Renmark North School Greek culture teacher Kim Axon said her students put Renmark North “on the map”.
“I had a feeling the students were going to do well, but I wasn’t expecting them to do this well,” she said.
“I’m extremely proud and so is their Greek teacher Patty Panagiotopoulos. The kids love Greek and have worked very hard.
“It’s a great competition to participate in and we are excited for what’s to come with the state competition soon.”