The End of the Road

The service that facilitates the email subscription feature of this blog is set to be terminated in July of 2021. Since automatic email notifications for subscribers will no longer be possible, therefore, The Bubones Blog is hereby discontinued. 

This blog, in its current format, was established in 2013. During this time, the blog has received over 21,000 page views, and an average of 159 people have subscribed to its posts each year. Archives will continue to live on the internet . . . or at least for as long as the Blogspot domain survives.

The original purpose of this blog was to keep parents up-to-date on things happening within the MUS Latin program. This is still, of course, a very important objective, and going forward, I'll be sure to accomplish this through other modes of communication.

Valete, lectores!

May 2021

1. A total of 151 MUS Upper School and Lower School students earned awards on the 2021 National Latin Exam:

8 perfect scores

60 Summa Cum Laude Gold Medals

52 Maxima Cum Laude Silver Medals

26 Magna Cum Laude

13 Cum Laude

More information is posted here.

2. Three MUS students earned recognition in the Bernice Fox Classics Writing Contest. More information is posted here.

3. A total of 39 MUS Upper School and Lower School students earned awards at the 2021 Tennessee Junior Classical League State Convention. TJCL did not issue any overall school awards this year, but we are proud of our students for continuing the MUS tradition of excellence in this long-running state competition.

April 2021

1. The Tennessee Junior Classical League State Convention is still scheduled for Friday, April 16. Although the convention is virtual again this year, we will do our best to make it an in-person, community experience during lunch and X-Block that day.

2. National Latin Exam results should arrive within the next couple of weeks.

March 2021

1. The National Latin Exam will be administered this week during X-Block:

Tuesday, March 2: Latin One

Thursday, March 4: Latin Two through Five

In addition to the review and practice taking place in class, students should also take advantage of the NLE Practice App.

2. A total of 62 MUS Upper School and Lower School students signed up for the virtual 2021 Tennessee Junior Classical League State Convention. More information is posted here. 

3. The Classical Association of the Middle West and South recently announced a postponement of the CAMWS Latin Translation Contest for the 4th time this school year. Since our focus needs to be on the NLE and TJCL right now, we have decided not to participate . . . when or if the contest happens for 2020-2021. We hope to resume our participation in this annual contest next year.

February 2021

1. The Tennessee Junior Classical League State Convention will be a virtual event this year. However, we are designating Friday, April 16 as a day on which to make this as much of a community experience as possible.

This event is free this year, and it's open to all Upper School and Lower School Latin Club members in good standing. Students should have received (or will soon receive) preliminary information in class, with a sign-up form to follow via email within the next few days. 

2. The Classical Association of the Middle West and South Latin Translation Contest has been moved yet again. As of now, it's on the schedule for Monday, February 22 during X-Block.

January 2021

1. The MUS Department of Classical and Modern Languages will be celebrating National Language Week from January 11-15, 2021. There will be language-themed meals in the Dining Hall, flag decorations in the Upper School 200 hallway, the MUS International Film Festival (during X-Block), and a schoolwide trivia contest.

2. The CAMWS Latin Translation Contest has been tentatively rescheduled for the X-Block period on Tuesday, February 2, 2021. This will involve about 40 Upper School students.

3. The National Latin Exam is tentatively scheduled for the X-Block period on Tuesday, March 2 (for Latin One students) and Thursday, March 4 (for Latin Two through Latin Five). The NLE is required for all MUS Latin students, both Upper School and Lower School, regardless of Latin Club membership.

December 2020

1. The CAMWS Latin Translation Contest had previously been scheduled for December 1, but CAMWS has decided to move this competition to the spring. As of now, it is tentatively scheduled for late January / early February. 

2. The pandemic might have diminished the festive nature of the Latin Fall Festivus this year, but it certainly did NOT have a negative impact on the performance of the Bubones. Full results are posted here.

3. Thanks to our Latin Club officers for coming up with a plan to maintain the tradition of our annual Saturnalia celebration this year. Next year, we hope that we can have one of our more typical joyous holiday celebrations.

4. Semester exams for the language department are scheduled for Friday, December 18.

November 2020

1. The virtual Latin Fall Festivus is scheduled for Saturday, November 14. Information is posted here. There is no need for students to sign up ahead of time; they should simply follow the instructions in the information packet if they would like to participate. Non-Latin Club members may participate in testing and Certamen but not the creative arts competitions.

2. The Classical Association of the Middle West and South Latin Translation Contest is scheduled for Tuesday, December 1 during X-Block. This is open to students in Latin Two through Latin Five. Students who would like to participate should sign up with their teacher by Friday, November 6. Information about the contest is posted here. 

3. Latin Club officers are making tentative plans for an MUS Saturnalia celebration, to be held after school on Tuesday, December 1. More information will follow.

October 2020

1. We have 129 members of the Latin Club this year. T-shirts, hoodies, and magnets have been ordered. They should arrive between Fall Break and Halloween.

2. We are making plans for a virtual Latin Fall Festivus. The live events are tentatively scheduled for Saturday, November 14. More information will follow.

September 2020

1. Latin Club information for the 2020-2021 school year has been distributed to parents and students via email. Although it is impossible to say what sorts of activities will be feasible this year, we certainly hope to offer some sort of extracurricular program.

To sign up, students or parents should fill out the online form posted here. The sign-up deadline is September 15.

2. Two news items from the 2020 National Junior Classical League (Virtual) Convention, which took place over the summer:

(1) MUS alumnus Austin Chu was recognized for his many years of service to NJCL. Austin began attending these conventions when he attended MUS in the late 1990s and early 2000s, and he has never stopped. A tribute video is posted here.

(2) Congratulations to current MUS student Mark Hieatt for placing 4th on the Greek Language academic test. All NJCL contests - pandemic or no pandemic - are brutally competitive, so this is a noteworthy achievement.

June 2020

A bevy of contest results came in at the very end of the school year. As always, the Bubones performed at a very high level. Congratulations to all of these students for a job well done!

Also, the National Junior Classical League will be offering a "virtual convention" this summer. If anyone is interested in participating, please let me know.

1. Classical Association of the Middle West and South Latin Translation Contest

A total of 984 students across the vast 32-state CAMWS region participated in this year’s competition. Generally speaking, students who score in the top 2-3% of their peers receive Cash Awards, students in the top 5-6% receive Book Awards, and students who score within the top 20% receive Certificates of Commendation.

  

Latin Two:

Frederick Huang – Certificate of Commendation

Latin Three:

Kerry Zhao, Mark Hieatt, Simeon Betapudi, Coleman Whitehead – Certificates of Commendation

Latin Four:

Jack Jabbour, Max Shackelford – Book Awards

Cullen Lonergan, Ryan Peng, J.P. Wood, Hart Gowen – Certificates of Commendation

MUS had more winners than any other school in Tennessee.

2. Tennessee Junior Classical League State Convention

Although the traditional convention itself was cancelled, nevertheless, we did win a number of awards based on (1) the pre-convention contests that we submitted before Spring Break and (2) the “virtual convention” in which a small group of students participated.

School Awards

• Trajan Award (for having the largest membership total in the state)
• TJCL Community Service Award
• “Virtual Certamen” – Advanced Level – 2nd place (Mark Hieatt, Forest Rudd, Kerry Zhao, Noah Emmert, Collin Craft)

Individual Awards

Essay Contest:

8th grade: 4th place – Alan Zhou; 5th place – Harrison Goetze

9th grade: 1st place – Max Mascolino; 5th place – Lou Zhou

10th grade: 5th place – Christopher Yarbro

Poetry Contest:

8th grade: 2nd place – Will Hess; 4th place – Ihsan Omer; 5th place – Dannie Dong

9th grade: 1st place – Frederick Huang; 2nd place – Kevin Ma

10th grade: 5th place – Forest Rudd

11th grade: 2nd place – Hart Gowen; 4th place – Matthew Phillips

Advocacy Letter Contest:

9^th Grade: 2^nd place – Charles Hamlett

12th grade: 5th place – Arjun Puri

3. University of Memphis Language Fair

As with the TJCL State Convention, the fair was cancelled. However, pre-fair contest submissions were evaluated.

Latin Writing, Level 3:

Mark Hieatt, 1st place

Latin Writing, Level 4:

Ryan Peng, 1st place

Will Schuessler, 2nd place

Fawwaz Omer, 3rd place

4. National Junior Classical League Online Exams

National Latin Vocabulary Exam

Latin One:

Gabe Chen, Will Gramm, Everett Sego - Silver Medals

William Levy - Bronze Medal

Latin Two:

Varun Krishnamurthi, Kevin Ma - Gold Medals

Alyaan Salman, Lou Zhou - Silver Medals

Jack Knighton - Bronze Medal

Latin Three:

Mark Hieatt, Kerry Zhao - Gold Medals

Jack Zaptin - Bronze Medal

Latin Four:

Fawwaz Omer - Gold Medal

National Roman Civilization Exam

Novice Level:

Gabe Chen, Will Gramm, William Levy, Everett Sego - Silver Medals

Intermediate Level:

Kerry Zhao - Gold Medal

Varun Krishnamurthi, Forest Rudd, Mohid Saeed - Silver Medals

Hamza Janjua, Jack Knighton, Kevin Ma - Bronze Medals

Advanced Level:

Fawwaz Omer - Silver Medal

May 2020

1. National Latin Exam

We have received the results of the 2020 National Latin Exam:

81 Summa Cum Laude Gold Medals
44 Maxima Cum Laude Silver Medals
13 Magna Cum Laude 
12 Cum Laude

Generally speaking, the top 10 to 15% of students nationwide earn Summa Cum Laude, the next 10 to 15% receive Maxima, and so forth. Everyone who scores above the national average qualifies for one of the four awards.

Special recognition goes to the 17 students who earned perfect scores this year:

Latin One: Dannie Dong, Tyler Dang, Wesley Caldwell, David Simpson, Charlie Treadwell, Gabe Chen, Eshaan Patnaik, Evan Wu, Alan Zhou

Latin Two: Varun Krishnamurthi, Kevin Ma, Frederick Huang

Latin Three: Forest Rudd, Simeon Betapudi, Mark Hieatt

Latin Four Poetry: Fawwaz Omer, Max Shackelford

2. Congratulations to Arjun Puri, Akbar Latif, and Matthew Phillips for receiving recognition for their work in the Bernice Fox Classics Writing Contest, an annual competition sponsored by Monmouth College (IL). Each year, this contest selects just one overall cash prize winner but also recognizes a small number of runners-up with the “Honorable Mention” designation. The theme of this year's contest: "Hindsight in 2020."

April 2020

1. Our biennial trip to Italy has been postponed, now tentatively rescheduled for October of 2020.

2. We had a small group of students preparing to attend the University of Memphis Language Fair on April 4. This event has been cancelled.

3. We had a much larger group - 53 Upper School and Lower School students - registered for the Tennessee Junior Classical League State Convention at the end of April. Unfortunately, this event has also been cancelled. 

4. In the coming weeks, we hope to receive the results from some other contests, including the CAMWS Latin Translation Contest and the National Latin Exam.

Stay healthy, everyone. And remember these inspirational words from Book One of Vergil's Aeneid:

'O socii—neque enim ignari sumus ante malorum—

O passi graviora, dabit deus his quoque finem.

Vos et Scyllaeam rabiem penitusque sonantis              

accestis scopulos, vos et Cyclopea saxa

experti: revocate animos, maestumque timorem

mittite: forsan et haec olim meminisse iuvabit.

Per varios casus, per tot discrimina rerum

tendimus in Latium; sedes ubi fata quietas               

ostendunt; illic fas regna resurgere Troiae.

Durate, et vosmet rebus servate secundis.'

‘O friends (well, we were not unknown to trouble before)

O you who’ve endured worse, the god will grant an end to this too.

You’ve faced rabid Scylla, and her deep-sounding cliffs:

and you’ve experienced the Cyclopes’s rocks:

remember your courage and chase away gloomy fears:

perhaps one day you’ll even delight in remembering this.

Through all these misfortunes, these dangerous times,

we head for Latium, where the fates hold peaceful lives

for us: there Troy’s kingdom can rise again. Endure,

and preserve yourselves for happier days.’

March 2020

1. The National Latin Exam has been moved to Tuesday, March 3. It is scheduled from 2:15 to 3:15 PM in Hyde Chapel. In addition to the review and preparation being done in class, students are encouraged to take advantage of the resources posted on the NLE website, including the NLE Online Practice App.

2. Seniors who took AP Latin last year are encouraged to apply for the Seal of Biliteracy, a new award offered by the MUS Department of Classical and Modern Languages. Applications are due March 20. More information is posted here.

3. We have a total of 53 Upper School and Lower School students registered for the Tennessee Junior Classical League State Convention in April. Information about convention exams and contests is posted here.

February 2020

1. For students who want to attend the Tennessee Junior Classical League State Convention in April, the sign-up deadline is Friday, February 14. "Sign-up" involves completing both permission slips and a pre-convention writing assignment. An information packet is posted on the Bulletin Board of onCampus.

2. The next two NJCL online exams are coming up soon - February 12 (Vocabulary) and February 26 (Roman Civilization). Contact Mr. Gagliano for more information.

3. All students should be preparing for the National Latin Exam. A useful practice app may be found here.