The MHS Latin Club Times!

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Alexander Logan
5 years ago
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1 The Presenting the best about the Mariemont High School Latin Club 2014 Why Latin? It's the question nearly every Latin student gets at one point or another. I got it right away, when I signed up for Latin II my freshman year and my older brother disdainfully asked why I was taking it. I forget exactly what I told him then, but I can really think of three points I could tell him now as to why I've taken Latin all through high school. First, I loved taking the class itself. Mr. Ferry, for all his inability to grade papers quickly, has easily become my favorite teacher through the four years I've taken his class. He's personable for one thing, and embodies the word "polymath". Walking in to his class, you know that you'll learn something, even if it's not what you were expecting to get out of the day's lesson. My peers have also played a large part in my love of the class. While about forty people originally took the class, every year a large number have dropped it, until only nine of us are left. I know the other eight people in my Latin class a lot more intimately than I do most of the rest of my grade, and I look forward to seeing them there every day. I've also enjoyed taking part in Latin Club. Ever since my first Certamen back in 2010, I've been hooked, and tried to do whatever I could to give back to Mariemont's Latin Club. I've made very unexpected friends and made memories I know I'll treasure throughout my life. Knowing that this spring marks my final Latin Convention as a JCL'er, I'm looking forward to Convention, but also dreading it a little. It's been difficult to accept that this will be my final time competing at Certamen, modern myth, and all the other contests I've grown to love. All the same, I know that I'll join the OSCL, and that will be another grand adventure entirely. Latin itself has also played into my enjoyment of the class. While I always hear that Latin is difficult or, worse, a dead language, I've grown relatively comfortable reading Latin. Everything has its place grammatically, and frankly, it sounds cool. The culture, too, is fascinating to study. I've always had an interest in classical antiquity, and getting more than a cursory look at ancient civilizations around the time of Rome has scratched a longstanding itch. Between the mythology, the examination of daily Roman life, and the political history that makes modern politicians look like saints, there's always something new to find out. While I'm going to keep studying Rome and Latin in the future, I'll miss high school Latin because of all these things. The class was a once-in-alifetime experience, and well worth every second of it. -Evan Doran- 1

I enter the classroom and was given a warm welcome by all the members of the class. I was introduced to everyone and a welcoming and friendly girl, invited me to sit next to her.

2 Admirationes Latinae As I walked into my new Latin class I was surprised to see only nine students in the class. I walked in, terrified. I did not know anyone in this class, nor had I ever seen those faces in the halls But then again, I had only been here for a week so. I enter the classroom and was given a warm welcome by all the members of the class. I was introduced to everyone and a welcoming and friendly girl, invited me to sit next to her. I had no idea what I was getting into nor how it was going to work out. But if I had the chance to go back in time and had to decide whether to take the class or not, I would make the same decision. The way Italy approaches the study of Latin is extremely different from how you would study it at Mariemont High School. Just picture a very frightening figure,standing in front of a black chalkboard, writing the most esoteric sentences and asking clueless students to translate off the top of their heads. Doesn't this sound extremely terrifying? But rest assured Latin at Mariemont High School is nothing like what The MHS Latin Club just came up in your head.mr Ferry,who has taught at Mariemont for 10 years, is an amazing person and also an outstanding teacher. His incredible knowledge,but most of all the passion for what he teaches just makes students want to learn more and more about the subject and much more. Do not think that Latin is all about translating,translating is only on the surface, there is so much more to the course than just translating. It allows you to learn about a culture that lived ages ago and whose influence on our society is still present today. If I were to list all the evidence,i would probably be here all day but just to give you an idea, the Romans set the foundations to the form of government that we have today. Being a foreign exchange student made my whole Latin Club experience unique and memorable. Latin allowed me to meet my best friends. We are now tied by and unbreakable bond that Latin has contributed to enforce. There is so much more I could say about the amazing benefits that the Latin language has brought Above : Margherita Rey and Kayla Wood at the UC Certamen. me but that would ruin all the fun for you,so you re just going to have to find out. -Margherita Rey- 2

3 Anticipation of Latin Convention What is Latin Convention? The Ohio Junior Classics League (OJCL) Latin Convention happens every spring. We will all ride up to a hotel in Columbus and spend 2 nights there. There are three general assemblies where the entire crowd meets together. Each student also competes in a wide variety of categories by submitting various projects. There are five ways students can compete. My favorite way that students can compete for their schools is through a series of Jeopardylike contests called certamena. The MHS Latin Club require students to learn outside of class and to think critically. Each school can send teams of four freshmen to compete at the intro level, four sophomores at the intermediate level, and four juniors and seniors at the upper lever. Then each round is made up of three teams, for a total of twelve students in all. Certamen competitions are a great opportunity that we as students can take advantage of to further explore the Latin language, the Roman culture and the Classics themselves. -Logan Urbanski- Latin Convention is a medley of learning about and celebrating the classics,exploring creativity,and socializing with new and old friends,that makes for a fantastic weekend -Abby Moreton Certamena? Each round of certamen, meaning contest in Latin, has fifteen questions which students race to answer. The questions vary from Classical mythology, to Latin grammar, to Latin translation, to Greek and Roman culture. Some of the questions are covered in class, while other questions We students at Latin Convention are wonderfully odd in that we dedicate an entire weekend to watching ads about Julius Caesar and listening to jokes about Emperor Nero -Taylor Giordullo- 3

4 The MHS Latin Club What does it mean to be in Latin? Praefatio Why do I take Latin? I am often asked, especially when around those who take German or Spanish. It is a dead language, you ll never need it, I hear. Why do I take Latin? Am I preparing for an AFS (American Foreign Student) Trip to the Vatican? (No) Am I learning to speak Latin for when my time machine will be complete? ( Hopefully) I take Latin for many reasons, and the most important part being that it is fun. I never have a time when I am bored in Latin. I never find myself checking the clock to find out when it will end. That has never happened. Why am I like this? What do I find so interesting in Latin that encourages me to go to different schools on Saturdays just to show others that I love Latin more than they do? We ll examine all sides of this question, looking at the fun, learning, and values we learn, and look at the psychological why I love it, and hopefully, convince you that you love Latin too. Learning Probably the most important part of being in Latin is the learning. Every day our class is shocked to find out they learned something new, whether it be Latin Grammar or wine corks. Any questions will be answered, and a question on the shape of the Roman amphorae will lead into an educational discussion on their entire history, and the history the ships they are carried on, leading to a sudden realization that we have just learned about Roman vases, well known for not being a topic of high interest, but couldn t look away until the end. At the end it will always tie back in again for we came out knowing every derivative of the word amphora and somehow having a complete mastery of the vocative case. You can always be sure that you will learn much more than Latin. On Fridays we even have a cultural day where we learn the most obscure myths Latin has to offer, and once again knowing a full literary breakdown of The Saga of the Volsungs for some reason. So does Latin have a learning aspect unmatched by any other class, yes, but that can t be it, there has to be something else. And there is. Psychology Why do people like Latin? Another aspect can be boiled down with pure psychology, the psy originating from the Greek Ψ (Psi), 23 rd letter of the Greek alphabet and another odd piece of info learned in Latin. Some aspects of the love for this class can be shown with a study written in a Smithsonian article written by Tom Vanderbilt on June, The basis of the article claims the many reasons we like what we do. One aspect that would fit this class the most would be the complexity argument. It states that most humans enjoy complex and changing classes over monotonous and boring ones, and Latin never fails to deliver with new lessons and pieces of culture every day. It is clear this would be preferred to a class where virtually the same material is given every 4

5 day. Another psychological aspect is the teacher. Many sources say that a teacher is incredibly important for making a course interesting, and ultimately, educational. Both Latin teachers I had definitely had those traits, with exiting Roman holidays, and the Ides of March celebration. Perhaps no one said it better than Andy Rooney claiming that, most of us end up with no more than five or six people who remember us. Teachers have thousands of people who remember them for the rest of their lives. FUN Latin is incredibly fun. I could say more, I should say more, but I won t, ever. Extracurricular The final part of my enjoyment in Latin is the fun extracurricular activities. I would claim the most important of all is Certamina, the greatest Latin competition on earth. Nothing compares to coming to the High School in the morning, eating doughnuts, and having a great time with The MHS Latin Club a bunch of Latin lovers. There is also the Banner, which I hope to one day have one helped by my work to hang on the walls of the Latin classrooms. I finally look forward to Latin Convention coming up in only a few weeks. This will be my first, and I am incredibly excited. What does it mean to do Latin? I close saying that choosing Latin was my best decision coming out of the Junior High. If this is being read by a Junior High student, choose Latin for high school. If this is read by a High School student, stick with it. If it is read by a parent, encourage your kids with it. If you are a certain High School Latin Teacher who reads this, thanks for letting me do this, and if you are Magistra, thanks for making this all possible. To quote the poet Ovid, Daring is not safe against daring men. -Gordon Goodwin- 5

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