MANCHESTER, NH â Academic and personal achievement was celebrated Friday as West High School honored all its English Learners with a special ceremony that included family and friends and education partners from the community.
And celebration was in order, as results of the annual English proficiency assessment showed tremendous achievement for a majority of students. Those who qualified for Tier C had the highest English language proficiency in the EL Program, and this year 62 percent of West’s 100 EL students qualified for the highest tier, according to EL teacher Liz Kirwan.
WATCH: See YouTube below of excerpts from two student talent showcases, including a touching ending by a brother and sister from the Congo, reunited after several years apart, making beautiful music together.
The assessment focuses on four main skill areas: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Students demonstrate academic rigor in all subject matters, including English, math, science and social studies.
Graduating EL seniors were also recognized along with students who placed on the honor roll throughout the year and those who had achieved personal milestones for advancement.
The ACCESS test is given annually to monitor students’ progress in acquiring social and academic English.
“People like me are very jealous of those of you who know more than one language, and I’m very proud of you,” said Dichard, during his opening remarks. “Our society needs people who can speak multiple languages, and hopefully one day I’ll take some time to learn another language or two so I can speak in some of your native tongues.”
West’s 100 EL students are among 2,000 students district-wide who are English Learners, representing 60 languages and 75 countries.
Seniors Ange Kalambay, who came to the U.S. five years ago from the Congo, and Ahd Mohamed, who is Sudanese but grew up in the United Arab Emirates, plan to room together next fall at Colby Sawyer College. Ange will be studying biology and pre-med, while Ahd is pursuing a career in nursing. After the ceremony they celebrated with their other best friends, juniors Zainab Ali â who wants to be a neurosurgeon â and Marwah Al Thuwayni, an aspiring future plastic surgeon. Ahd and Zainab were two of the three students, along with Francesa Gomez Acevedo, who this year scored high enough in English proficiency to test out of EL.
Wendy Perron, Director of EL Instruction for the school district said the event was bittersweet. She is leaving the district after this school year.
“It’s been my honor and my privilege to share this journey with the students,” Perron said.
In addition to the students who participated in this year’s assessment test, Kirwan also recognized West’s newest students, those who have arrived since February and did not take the test, but are already immersed in new language and academic challenges. They are:
- Bitokenja “Veronicaâ Amosi
- Mbutros Amosi
- Wilondja “JohnâAmosi
- Jessiris Bermudez
- Y Thanh Dang
- Isho Khamis
- Purav Patel
- Annie Tshibal
- Joyce Tshibal
- Sarai Vasquez
School Committee member Leslie Want said attending this ceremony is meaningful to her, not only as a member of the school board, but as a former educator.
“All graduations are special, but this and the adult education graduation are really special because they really lift up students who don’t always see a lot of recognition so it really makes me happy to see. They’re beautiful,” Want said.
“And I want to celebrate the teachers who put in so much hard work to make this a special occasion,” said Interim co-superintendent Amy Allen.
In addition to Liz Kirwan and Kelly Priddy, West’s EL team includes Amadou Hamady Sy, who serves as English Learner High School Social Worker.
West Graduating EL Seniors
- Sana Abdul Aziz
- Osvaldo Cortez
- Ritika Ghaley
- Joshna Ghalley
- Natalie Henriquez Troncoso
- Ken Kabambi
- Yann Kabambi
- Ange Kalambay
- Majak Kon
- Raphael Lopez
- Ahd Mohamed
- Manita Neorala
- Janpaul Ortiz Oquendo
- Subeksha Pulami Magar
- Nayeli Quinones Santiago
- Dinesh Rai
- Scarla Reyes DeJesus
- Lourdes Reyes Pineda
- Ninoska Rios Pastrana
- Richard Rosario
- Muna Tamang
- Prajina Wagley
EL Honor Roll
Principal’s List – Students must be taking at least five classes and maintain a 3.85-4.0 GPA to qualify:
- Jan Acevedo
- Zainab Ali
- Y Dang
- Bruna Flor Machado** (made the Principal’s list for every quarter)
- Hidemar Gatase
- Franchesca Gomez Acevedo
- Willianys Hernandez Cruz
- Alisha Natabo
High Honors and Honors – Students must be taking at least five classes and maintain a 3.5-3.8499 GPA.
- Sana Abdul Aziz
- Jan Acevedo
- Furquan Aifari
- Marwah Al Thuwayni
- Axel Alberto
- Zainab Ali
- Lubungyo Amisi (Queenie)
- Kevin Belem
- Deepa Bhujel
- Osvaldo Cortez
- Beeley Destine
- Francis Echeverria
- Mat Ferreira Da Costa
- Hldemar Gatase
- Ritika Ghaley
- Franchesca Gomez Acevedo
- Natalie Henriquez Troncoso
- Jose Henriquez Urena
- Willa Hernandez Cruz
- Nyalor Jima
- Adnan Jusufovic
- Ken Kabambi
- Yann Kabambi
- Gracia Kalambay
- Tunza Kitandala
- Majak Kon
- Shreejana Majar
- Arianny Martinez
- Ahd Mohamed
- Angel Mora
- Ezequiel Mora
- Natalia Morales
- Alisha Natabo
- Manita Neorala
- Brianna Oijangbe Kuznetsova
- Purav Patel
- Subeksha Pulami Magar
- Nayeli Quinones Santiago
- Depisha Rai
- Dinesh Rai
- Luis Ramos Montalvo
- Lourdes Reyes Pineda
- Ninoska Rios Pastrana
- Sam Rojas Diaz
- Kinley Tamang
- Muna Tamang
- Sonam Tamang
- Vinny Tozaj
- Tim Trinh
- Joyce Tshibal
Below, highlights from this year’s talent showcase – with a show-stopping performance by sister and brother Annie and Isaac Tshibal. Annie is a freshman from the Congo and arrived three months ago. Her brother, Isaac graduated in 2018 and is completely blind (he has no eyes). He came to the U.S. in 2016, according to Kirwan.
