Semester's End

A little holiday cheer to end the semester:

Semester Exam Reminder

Language exams are Tuesday, December 16.

If anyone has any last-minute questions or concerns, I'll be in my office after exams on Monday until about 1:30 PM.

"The Latin Vote"

Click here for a recent article about the importance of learning Latin. I especially like the anecdote about the hiring practices of J.P. Getty, one of the wealthiest Americans of the 20th century: "He understood that mastery of the passive periphrastic was a more important business qualification than an MBA."

Thanks to Mr. Jim Buchman, MUS art teacher, for sharing.

Saturnalia

All Upper School and Lower School Latin Club members are invited to attend the Latin Club Saturnalia. It will take place Tuesday, December 2 during OP in the Wunderlich Auditorium. The officers will present a short program, and refreshments will be served.

Everyone should bring a small cash donation (ca. $5.00) for our Angel Tree holiday service project.

2014 Festivus Results

The 7^th annual Latin Fall Festivus took place on Saturday, November 15 at St. Mary’s. About 250 students from 12 different schools (MUS, St. Mary’s, White Station, Houston, Germantown, Collierville, CBHS, St. Benedict, Westminster Academy, Collegiate School, Hutchison, St. George’s) attended the competition.

MUS winners:

Vocabulary Test – Level 2 – Charlie Evans (2^nd), Jackson Moody (1^st)

Vocabulary Test – Level 3-4-5 – Forest Colerick (3^rd), Patrick Murphy (2^nd), Tom Wells (1^st) 

Mythology Test – Level 2 – Jackson Moody (2^nd)

Mythology Test – Level 3-4-5 – Darius Cowan (tie for 3^rd), Richard Ouyang (1^st)

Catapult Contest (Large) – Callaway Rogers and Jon Staffel (1^st)

Mythology Spelling Bee – Kyle Day (3^rd)

Feats of Strength:

Foot Race – Forest Colerick (2^nd), Josiah Crutchfield (1^st)

Boxing – Benton Ferebee (1^st) 

Open Certamen:

Lower Level – Brad Kerkhof (3^rd), Jackson Moody (2^nd), Charlie Evans (1^st)

Upper Level – Nathan Dinh and Patrick Murphy (3^rd), Aneesh Ram and Brooks Eikner (2^nd), Richard Ouyang (1^st)

Congratulations to all of these students for a job well done.

Festivus Reminders

Please read everything posted here.

Festivus is this Saturday, November 15. Students should report by 7:50 AM and should be picked up at 11:45 AM.

Semester Exam Study Guide

The exam study guide is posted here.

Foreign language exams are scheduled for Tuesday, December 16.

Trigon Instructional Video

It's never too early to start practicing for the tournament:

Letters About Literature

I would like to have some students take part in this writing contest, which is sponsored by Humanities Tennessee.

I will award one bonus point to the quarter average in return for participation. To receive this point, you must follow the contest guidelines (see link above), you must put forth a legitimate effort, and you must write your letter to a classical author (e.g., Homer, Vergil, Cicero, Caesar).

If you would like to participate, please e-mail me your letter by Monday, December 8.

This offer is open to students in all levels of Latin.

Festivus Event Assignments

Festivus event assignments are posted here. We still have space in a couple of events, so let your teacher know if you are interested.

All MUS Upper School and Lower School students are required to participate in Academic Testing. See the Festivus packet for more information.

The tryout for the Mythology Spelling Bee is scheduled for this Friday during OP in US 216.

New Latin Brochure

Click here to see the Fall 2014 version of the MUS Latin brochure.

The brochure includes recent SAT statistics for Latin students vs. non-Latin students. As always, the gap between the two groups is significant. 

Festivus

Click here to see the list of students who have signed up for Festivus. If this list needs to be corrected, please notify Mr. Sellers ASAP.

Also, Festivus T-shirts will be available for $12.00. If anyone would like to pre-order a T-shirt, please let me know.

Shirts and Magnets

They have arrived. Please pick them up in Mr. Suddarth's office.

Festivus Sign-Up

All students who want to attend the Festivus this year need to sign up by Friday, October 17.  To sign up, simply talk to your Latin teacher.  There is no form to fill out, and there is no money to pay. (We'll use club money to cover registration fees.)  We do, however, expect everyone who signs up to be there.

Academic testing is required for all MUS students.  Other events are optional.

This is open to all US and LS students who joined the Latin Club.

More information is posted here.

Latin Club Senators

We have the results of the JCL senate election. Just as in ancient Rome, the senators will assist and advise the consuls.

We had a lot of well-qualified candidates on the ballot, but unfortunately, only one person per grade level could be elected. Thanks to all of those who offered to serve, and congratulations to the winners:

AP Latin - Will McAtee

Latin Three - Brooks Eikner

Latin Two - Chang Yu

Latin Club Roster 2.0

The updated roster is posted here.

Homer at Rhodes

There will be a special performance of the Odyssey next Tuesday on the campus of Rhodes College.

Information is posted here.

Imperial Homes

Over the past couple of weeks, there have been stories in the news about the homes of Nero and Augustus.

On the next MUS Latin trip to Italy, hopefully we'll have access to at least one of them.

Latin Club Roster

Click here to view the club roster as of today.  Please check everything carefully and e-mail me any corrections.

As a reminder, students must join JCL in the fall as the first step of eligibility for the Latin events throughout the year (Festivus, TJCL State Convention, Latin Honor Society, trigon tournament, etc.).

Thanks to all of those who met the deadline.  For those who did not meet the deadline but who still would like to join, we will extend the membership deadline to Wednesday, September 24.

JCL Shirt and Magnet

Here are the designs for this year:

There will be a second magnet from TJCL later this fall.

JCL Membership Reminder

Latin Club dues should be paid by next Friday, September 19.  More information is posted here.

2014 Latin Fall Festivus

Festivus is scheduled for Saturday, November 15 at St. Mary's.

The information packet is posted here.  We'll have sign-ups for this around the time of Fall Break.

This is open to all MUS students who join the Latin Club.

Latin Club Information

Information is posted here.

Dues should be paid by Friday, September 19.

Banner

Our newest banner went up over the summer.  Look for it at the corner of Park and Massey.

Consuls

Richard Ouyang and Forest Colerick have been appointed to serve as Co-Consuls of the Latin Club for the 2014-2015 school year.  Thanks to all of those who applied.

Latin Club Leaders

In the tradition of the Roman Republic, we will have two consuls who serve as student leaders of the MUS chapter of the Junior Classical League.  

Application procedure:

Anyone interested in serving in one of these two leadership positions should e-mail Mr. Sellers a brief statement (a paragraph or two) highlighting his qualifications and / or his vision for the club.  All of the Latin teachers will read these applications and then appoint the best two candidates accordingly.

Applications are due by the end of the school day on Monday, August 18.  

Eligibility requirements:

• Must have attended at least two Festivuses and at least two TJCL conventions
• Must be enrolled in either AP Latin or both semesters of the Advanced Readings in Latin course
• Must attend the Festivus and the TJCL State Convention during the 2014-2015 school year (If there's a good chance that you might have a baseball or lacrosse conflict in the spring, for example, then you shouldn't apply.) 

Duties of the consuls:

• Help with the Festivus and the TJCL State Convention
• Show leadership to both Upper School and Lower School students
• Plan the Saturnalia program
• Carry out the MUS JCL community service project
• Lead JCL meetings, as necessary
• Help with planning events, T-shirts, magnets, etc.
• Make announcements during Chapel
• Perform any other duties assigned by the sponsors

We will either appoint or elect two additional lower-ranking officers after membership is finalized.

2014 National Latin Exam

A recent summer publication tells us how MUS ranked on the 2014 National Latin Exam in terms of the number of perfect scores (the only statistic that is released) compared to other schools.

Top schools in Tennessee (by number of perfect scores on the NLE):
  
1. 18 - MUS
2. 13 - MBA
3. 7 - University School of Nashville
4. 5 - Harpeth Hall
5. 4 (tie) - Arlington and MLK Magnet

A total of 30 schools in the state had at least one perfect score on the exam.

Summer Latin Challenge Winners

Congratulations to Rahul Mehra ("Let's go, Cubs!" sign in Wrigley Field), Bailey Keel ("Lord, direct us" motto of London), and Richard Ouyang (Latin entry sign at Fishbourne Palace).

Summer Latin

Before classes even begin, I'll award some bonus homework points to the first person to send me a correct translation of each Latin sign that I've come across this summer.

+5 points (the blue banner, to the top left of the unfortunate advertisement)

+2 points

+15 points (All of the Latin on the orange sign.  Pardon the glare - AEDIFICIUM is the first word in line 3; IN BRITANNIA in line 4.)

End of the Year

Thanks for a great year.  Hope everyone has a nice summer.

Spring 2014 Exam Study Guide

The exam study guide is posted here.

Foreign language exams are scheduled for Thursday, May 15.

Trigon Photos

Photos of the 2nd Annual MUS Trigon Championship are posted here.  Congratulations to Bays Webb for a hard-fought victory.

The MUS Film Club is editing a video of the event, complete with color commentary from Mr. Suddarth, Mr. Smythe, and Coach Torrey.  I'll post a link to the video whenever it becomes available.

Special thanks to all of those who helped with the event: Mr. Smith (IT support, establishing a live chat session with our trigon friends in England); Mrs. Greer from the communications department; Mr. Greer, Mr. Fudge, and Mr. Burke from the fine arts department.

2014 Phaedrus Latin Composition Contest

Five MUS Latin students have been recognized in the 2014 Phaedrus Latin Composition Contest.  In this competition, students write an original fable in Latin, in the same tradition of the Roman fabulist Phaedrus (sort of the Roman equivalent of the Greek storyteller Aesop).  The contest is sponsored by New St. Andrews College.

275 students from 20 different states competed this year.  The contest rewards three overall winners with cash prizes and then recognizes a group of finalists and semi-finalists who were also in the running.

Finalists – Salman Haque and Stephen Pacheco

Semi-Finalists – Tejvir Vaghela, Kamar Mack, and Jerry Oates

Congratulations to these students for a job well done!

2014 Convention Results

It was certainly an eventful weekend in Murfreesboro: two Certamen finals matches coming down to the very last question, a charioteer being thrown from his chariot, and our neighbors to the south hitching a ride home with us after their van was stolen from the parking lot.

In the end, we captured our seventh consecutive TJCL title.  We are very proud of the hard work and dedication of all of the MUS Latin students who made this victory possible.  Special recognition goes to the six MUS students who scored enough points to qualify for the overall top ten out of all of the students at the convention: Patrick Murphy, Will McAtee, Brooks Eikner, Salman Haque, Richard Ouyang, and Jackson Moody.
 
Full convention results are posted here.  We'll go for eight in a row next year in Gatlinburg.

Bernice Fox Writing Contest

Four MUS Latin students have received commendation in this year's Bernice L. Fox Classics Writing Contest: Jack Hawkins, Stephen Pacheco, Salman Haque, and Kamar Mack.

This annual writing contest is administered by the Department of Classics at Monmouth College (IL). This year's topic was "Twelve Modern Labors of Hercules: What twelve labors would Hercules have today and how would he complete them?"

Monmouth recognizes one overall winner and then selects the top 15% or so of submissions for honorable mention. MUS is the only school in Tennessee to have winners in this year's competition.

The complete list of winners is posted here.

Final Convention Reminders

Click here for a sheet with final convention information for students and parents.

All students who are going on the trip need to attend a mandatory meeting next Tuesday, April 22 in the Wunderlich Auditorium during OP.

There are still openings in many of the convention events.  Anyone who would like to compete in an event that he is not currently signed up for should talk to his Latin teacher.

2014 National Latin Exam Scores

77 Summa Cum Laude Gold Medals (students in this range score in the top 10% nationwide)
34 Maxima Cum Laude Silver Medals
21 Magna Cum Laude
14 Cum Laude

Special recognition goes to the 18 perfect scores we had, tying the school record we set two years ago:

Latin One: Jackson Moody, Jason Wang, Charlie Evans, Benton Ferebee, Jon Staffel, Chang Yu, Matthew Temple, Jackson Howell, Alexander Goodwin

Latin Two: Tom Wells, Henry Trammell, Brooks Eikner, Aneesh Ram

Latin Three: Witt Fesmire, Patton Orr, Bilal Siddiq, Will McAtee

Latin Four: Richard Ouyang

Congratulations to all of our NLE award winners for all of their hard work.

Newspaper Article

Click here to read an article about Latin in today's Commercial Appeal.  The MUS Latin program is mentioned.

Convention Tryout Reminder

Tomorrow (Wednesday, April 9) immediately after school:

1. Olympika / Chariot Race - Meet Coach Torrey in his office.

2. Mythology Spelling Bee / Principal Parts Bee - Meet me in LS 106.

All of these events are open to both Upper School and Lower School students. 

CAMWS Translation Contest

MUS has two winners in the 2013-2014 Latin Translation Contest sponsored by the Classical Association of the Middle West and South.

Congratulations to Salman Haque for placing in the top 10 to earn a $250 cash prize (for the second year in a row) and to Richard Ouyang for earning a letter of commendation.

This is a very difficult competition for advanced high school Latin students across the CAMWS region (Virginia to Arizona, Florida to Michigan).  There were only 7 winners in the entire state of Tennessee (including Salman and Richard). 

Spring T-Shirts Have Arrived

All Latin Club members should pick up the spring T-shirt from Mr. Suddarth's office.

"April is the Cruellest Month"

A reminder that today marks the beginning of Latin Language Appreciation Month in the state of Tennessee. With all due respect to T.S. Eliot, there is nothing cruel about it.

2014 Trigon Tournament

Many people around the country right now are focused on their brackets for the NCAA men's basketball tournament . . . but they should be focused on their brackets for a much more important tournament - the MUS Lower School Trigon Championship.

Click here for a copy of the Sellers region of the bracket and a description of the rules of trigon, a Roman ball game mentioned by classical authors such as Petronius and Martial.

The finals are tentatively set for Tuesday, May 6.

Josh Gray, the 2013 champion

Convention Tryouts

Wednesday, April 9 - immediately after school

1. Olympika - Meet Coach Torrey in his office

2. Mythology Spelling Bee / Principal Parts Bee - Meet me in LS 106

Latin Honor Society

According to my records, these students have qualified for the Latin Honor Society this year.  If I have left anyone off the list by mistake, please let me know ASAP.  Students must be JCL members and must have an A average in Latin (Q1 + Q2 + EX1 + Q3 / 4).  This list does NOT include the students of Mr. Suddarth, Mr. Gagliano, or Mrs. Reinhardt.

Latin One:  Sam Payne, Javan Smith, Charlie Evans, Jimmy Morrow, Jacob Webb

Latin Three:  Chandler Clayton, Forest Colerick, Owen Galvin, Eric Makapugay, Patrick Murphy, Patton Orr, Colin Threlkeld, Nathan Dinh, Dylan Echlin, Witt Fesmire, Philip Freeburg, Will McAtee, Bilal Siddiq, Henry T. Stratton, Daniel Tancredi

AP:  Baty Daniel, Jack Gray, Ashish Kumar, Jack Mullins, Richard Ouyang, Garret Sullivan, Sherman Tabor, Griffin Wilson, Christian Yarwood, Yunhua Zhao

Congratulations to all of these students for a job well done.  We will recognize the Upper School students during a school awards assembly in April.  The Lower School students will be recognized during a separate Lower School ceremony in May.

Convention Delegate List

The list of students signed up to attend the convention is posted here.  If you see any mistakes or omissions, please let me know as soon as possible.  (Yes, it is too late to sign up.)

Upper Level Certamen

Mr. Suddarth reports that Upper Level Certamen (Latin Three, Four, and Five) will be practicing on Tuesday and Friday mornings at 7:30 AM in room S2.  All students in these classes who are going to the convention are encouraged to attend.  The first practice will be this Friday, March 21.

Italy Trip

Below is a picture of the twenty MUS Latin students who traveled to Italy last week with Ms. Reinhardt and me.  We had a great trip, and we commend the students for their deportment.

This trip provides students with an excellent opportunity to study the rich cultural legacy of the ancient Romans in a manner that is impossible to reproduce in the classroom.  (In other words, you'll learn a lot more by visiting the Villa Iovis or the Arch of Titus in person than you can learn simply by reading about them in a textbook.)  The next trip is tentatively scheduled for spring break of 2016.  It will be offered to students in Latin Two and Latin Three. 
 

On the steps of the Temple of Ceres in Ostia (with our tour manager Sergio)

NLE Update

The National Latin Exam is still on for Wednesday after school.

Obviously, missing Monday and Tuesday because of weather is not good in terms of final review and preparation in class.  All students need to review on their own by taking advantage of the practice questions, syllabi, and previous exams posted on the NLE website.

National Latin Exam

The NLE will be this Wednesday, March 5, immediately after school in Hyde Chapel.  We should be finished by 3:15 PM.

Everyone should bring two sharpened #2 pencils.  Students in Upper School Latin classes should report to the front steps of the Chapel and line up alphabetically by level of Latin.  Lower School students should report to the side door (i.e., the one Lower Schoolers usually use to enter the Chapel) and line up alphabetically by teacher.

In addition to the review and practice that we have been doing in class, everyone is encouraged to take advantage of the new review application that the NLE has put online.



Go for the NLE Gold!

Italy Trip Meeting

We are going to have one last mandatory meeting for all students going on the trip to Italy tomorrow (Tuesday, February 25) during OP in US 216.  We are going to cover some final details, and a member of the school administration is going to offer some reminders about the consequences of disciplinary violations.

Pompeii

All Latin Club members are invited to attend the opening of Pompeii this Friday, February 21 at the Paradiso.  We will be seeing the 5:15 PM showing (in 3D).  The film is rated PG-13 and has a run time of 106 minutes.  Buy your ticket, meet inside the theater, and settle in for 90 minutes of volcanic debris flying right at your face.

Latin Convention

A reminder that all convention paperwork (permission slips and pre-convention writing contest entries) are due one week from today - Friday, February 21.  All of the information is posted here.

Latin and the ACT

Congratulations to the MUS students who have received perfect scores on the ACT.  As one of them explains in this article, having a strong foundation in Latin certainly helps.

Course Selection Sheets

All of my Latin One and Latin Three students need to come to my office sometime next week to pick up a language course selection sheet for next year. These sheets need to be completed, signed, and returned by Friday, February 28, 2014.

2014 State Latin Convention

The preliminary information packet for MUS students and parents is posted here.

For more detailed information, the official TJCL convention packet is located here.

To access the MUS study guides, go to this page, log in with your MUS id and password, select the Latin Contests page, and then select the JCL tab. To access the study guides provided by TJCL, go to this page.

The sign-up deadline is Friday, February 21, 2014. Please follow the instructions in the information packet carefully. And since space is limited, we recommend NOT waiting until the last minute to turn everything in.

Latin Motto Proclamation

Governor Haslam has endorsed an MUS-submitted honorary Latin motto for the state of Tennessee.  Read more about this here.  To see the full proclamation, click here.

Italy Trip Meeting Reminder

For the students who are going on the trip to Italy in March and their parents.

Thursday, January 23 - 5:30 PM - Wunderlich Auditorium

Latin One Certamen

Mr. Gagliano and I will be running the Latin One Certamen team this year.  We will begin practice next Wednesday morning (January 15) at 7:15 AM in LS 106. 

Any Latin One student who is a member of JCL may try out for the team.  Generally speaking, we will practice every Wednesday and Friday morning from 7:15 to 8:00 AM.

Hercules

You never have to look very far to find evidence of our classical heritage.

Winter storms have classical names this season; in fact, Winter Storm Hercules just hit a couple of days ago.

And speaking of Hercules, there is a new Hercules film coming out later this week . . . only to be followed by another Hercules film this summer.