Blake is proud of its students and their many academic, artistic and athletic accomplishments. Listed are just some examples of these achievements.
Last June the Blake chapter of the Cum Laude Society held its initiation of new members. Inductees from the class of 2006 are: Katherine Aizpuru, Annalisa Andre, Eleanor Barczak, Noel Bennett, Julie Brummond, Shalene Gupta, Emily Johnson, Cherie Meyer, Elizabeth Mitchell, David Moss, Natalie Nash, Siri Raasch, Emmanuel Rizzi, Elizabeth Schneider, Musetta Steinbach and Matthew Surdel. Current seniors are: Sonja Boatman, Avery Brown, Raymond Carlson, Laura Christianson, Katharine Chute, Elizabeth Davis, Erin Fackler, Catherine Gordon, Lauren Hoedeman, Sithara Kodali, Heidi Liu and Claire Richardson. The following members of the class of 2006 were inducted in 2005: Lauren Barry, Samuel Bjork (graduated in 2005), Divya Chari, Connor Cox, Berit Johnson, Matthew Maurer, Jeffrey Pickhardt, Anne Stake, Rachel Storch and Vanessa Szalapski.
Congratulations to the Blake students who earned high state and national rankings on the National French exam. For Level 1B, Andrew McCarty '08 ranked second in state and eighth nationally and Anne Feuss '09 ranked eighth in state. In Level 2A, Katy Marshall '08 ranked first in state and third nationally; Alli Reid '08 ranked fifth in state and seventh nationally; Tyler Ostman '06 ranked seventh in state and ninth nationally. Billie Pritzker '08 and Jo-Dean Seymour '09 ranked ninth in state, while Liza Winton '09 ranked 11th and Kathryn Vincent '09 ranked 12th. Alexa Bruer '09 and Blake Doerring '09 both ranked 13th in state. In Level 3A, Maggie Alden '08 and Heidi Liu '07 both ranked fourth in state and seventh nationally; Senuta Knuth '08 and Stewart Richardson '09 ranked fifth in state and eighth nationally. The following students ranked seventh statewide and tenth nationally: Lucas Christenson '08, Luke Cronin '09, Mollie Meiches '08, Kate Morton '08 and Nidhi Nagalia '09. Margaret Chute '09 ranked eighth in state, while Arseny Pekurovsky '07 and Sydney Snead '09 ranked ninth and Emily Berg '08 and Jessica Goldstein '08 both ranked 10th in state. In Level 4A, Ella Mitchell '08 ranked first in state and fifth nationally; Katherine Benson '08 ranked fourth in state and eighth nationally; Alison Bong '07, Samantha Butters '08, Ann Ford '08, Charlie Lannin '07 and Carolyn Mortell '08 all ranked sixth in state and 10th in the nation. Madeline Burton '07 ranked seventh in state. In Level 4C, Jacob Copman '09 ranked third in state and seventh nationally, while Sarah Wasley '09 ranked fourth in state and eighth nationally. In Level 5A, Katharine Chute '07 and Lauren Hoedeman '07 ranked second in state and fourth in the nation; Laura Christianson '07 ranked seventh in state and ninth nationally; Teresa Johnson '07 ranked eighth in state and 10th nationally; Erin Fackler '07 and Claire Richardson'07 ranked ninth in state, while Avery Brown '07 ranked 10th. Lizzie Aby '07 and Maren Ellingboe '06 ranked 11th in state. In Level 5C, Annie O'Leary '08 ranked 11th in state.
Blake's Upper School math team, coached by Marc Bogursky, had a great season and finished strong by placing third in its tier of smaller schools at the Minnesota state tournament in April. Team members were Elizabeth Bearrick '09, Rachel Bowens-Rubin '07, Deepa Chari '08, Divya Chari '06, Dhruv Hemmady '08, Zach Kagin '07, John Lawrence '07, Matt Maurer '06, Michael Maurer '08, Andrew McCarty '08, Jeff Pickhardt '06, Andrew Stromme '08, Matt Surdel '06, Teddy von Bevern '08, Wanda Wang '07 and Frederic Zhang '08. Bearrick, Bowens-Rubin, Hemmady, Kagin, Matt Maurer, Michael Maurer, McCarty, Pickhardt and Surdel were members of the state tournament team. Pickhardt earned a spot in the Math Bowl by being one of the top 10 scorers from all the participating schools in an individual contest held before the state tournament. He also qualified to be a member of Minnesota's ARML team that will compete in Iowa as part of a national competition.
Mihika Hemmady '10 and her Destination ImagiNation team from Eden Prairie earned first place at the state tournament in the Back At You category. The team also won a Da Vinci award for outstanding creativity and qualified to participate in the global competition, held at the University of Tennessee in May, where they competed against teams from around the world.
Divya Chari '06 and Jeff Everson '06 were among the 20 finalists in an essay contest sponsored by the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. The annual contest is open to high school juniors and seniors throughout the ninth Federal Reserve district and promotes research and writing in the field of economics. Chari and Everson each received a $100 savings bond for their finishes in the advanced economics division of the competition. The two were also invited to an awards luncheon honoring their achievements.
Deepa Chari '08 was selected to participate in the Pfizer, Inc./Solutia Inc. 2006 Students and Teachers As Research Scientists (STARS) program this summer. The program pairs students and teachers with biology, chemistry, computer science, engineer and medical research mentors. This summer, Chari will study with Dr. Shelley Minteer, an associate professor in the department of chemistry at Saint Louis University.
Kudos to Mihika Hemmady '10 for taking first place in the Junior Young Artist category (seventh through ninth grade) of the state piano competition organized by the Minnesota Music Teachers Association. Hemmady also qualified to play as part of an ensemble at the state honors concert at Northrop Auditorium in May.
Blake was one of six schools represented by student artists who presented their work at the Fourth Annual 4A Visual Arts Festival in April at the Perpich Center for the Arts. A three-member jury assessed the students' work. Daniel Lidral-Porter '07 and Brianna Low '09 were awarded superior certificates and medals. Richie Perkins '07 received an excellence certificate, and achievement certificates went to Will Jenkins '06, Julia Maritz '07 and Tommy Priedeman '07. In addition, Low's photogram, "Armenia," was selected as a Spot Light on the Arts award winner. Her piece was part of a statewide exhibit held in May at the College of Visual Art in St. Paul.
Congratulations to the cast and crew of the Upper School drama department's production of "Les Misérables." The group participated in Hennepin Theatre Trust's Spotlight Musical Theatre Program, which recognizes and honors local high school students who participate and excel in the performing arts. Blake was one of 18 local schools to participate in the inaugural year of the program. Allison Bong '07, who played Cosette, and Sam Tornio '07, who played Jean Valjean, both received honorable mention for Outstanding Performance in a Leading Role. Honorable mention also went to Blake for Outstanding Performance by a Chorus/Dance Ensemble.
Congratulations to Christina Blankenship '09 who received early acceptance to The Julliard School's Summer Intensive Dance Program, which took place this past July and August. Admission to this rigorous program is highly competitive with over 600 students auditioning and only 44 (22 female) accepted. The three-week program in ballet and modern dance is designed to give young dancers, ages 15 to 17, a taste of a Julliard dance student's life. Selected students are dedicated, disciplined and dance with a generosity of spirit. Blankenship lived at the Julliard residency hall at Lincoln Center during her studies.
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