Students at
Carden Academy of Huntington Beach
Excel in National French Contest

Photo: Carden Academy of Huntington Beach produced four
medal winners in the National French Contest:
(bottom L-R) Tianne Nguyen and Reina Sultan;
(top L-R) Michael Furuya and Khalid Shakur.

Huntington Beach, Calif. – Of 100,699 students participating in the prestigious National French Contest Le Grand Concours, Reina Sultan of Carden Academy of Huntington Beach ranked fourth in the nation and second among 2,462 Southern California students, the school announced today.

Overall, students from Carden Academy of Huntington Beach shined in the contest: besides Ms. Sultan, three students finished in the Top 10 percent nationally – Michael Furuya, Tianne Nguyen and Khalid Shakur; two finished in the Top 20% -- Shannon Conboy and Nick Aguila; and five students finished in the Top 50% -- Aly Torline, Nicole Zapotoczny, Keane Urashima, Sierra Christy and You-sheng Cho.

“We’re extremely proud of our students,” says Carol Van Asten, the school’s director.

“Having 11 of 25 students finish in the Top 50% is a credit to the students and their parents, their teacher Colette Waldron, and our challenging educational philosophy.”

Le Grand Concours is an annual competition sponsored by the American Associations of Teachers of French.

The four students who finished in the Top 10% received medals from AATF on Saturday, May 17, at Harbeson Hall at Pasadena City College.

“It’s quite amazing we did so well because our students took the High School Level One test,” Mrs. Waldron said. “They were competing against high school students.”

In regards to Ms. Sultan’s notable effort, Mrs. Waldron says, “She’s a very special student and person. To place in the top 95% is an amazing job; it is a very difficult test and you have no idea what is going to be on the test. Reina is very motivated. She’s an excellent student with great study habits.”

Additionally, Ms. Sultan scored a 99.9% on her accumulated High School Placement Tests and has been accepted with Hon ors at prestigious Cornelia Connelly High School.

For more information about Carden Academy of Huntington Beach,
please call 714-536-1441 or visit www.cardenacademyinc.org