Certamen

Advanced Certamen practice will begin Wednesday, January 6. We'll meet every Wednesday morning from 7:15-8:00 in US 216. This is open to all students in Latin Three, Four, and Five.

Saturnalia

Our annual Saturnalia program will take place during OP on Tuesday, December 8 in the Wunderlich Auditorium. All Upper School and Lower School Latin Club members are invited to attend. Refreshments will be served.

Please bring a small cash donation ($1.00 - $5.00) for our Angel Tree service project.

Latin Fall Festivus Results

A group of approximately 45 MUS Upper School and Lower School students competed at the Latin Fall Festivus, which was held Saturday, November 21 at White Station High School.

Here is the list of MUS winners:

Mythology Test (Level 1) - Reid Chandler, 2nd place

Mythology Test (Level 3-4-5) - Brooks Eikner, 3rd place

Vocabulary Test (Level 1) - James Smythe, 2nd place

Vocabulary Test (Level 2) - Ethan Hurst, 2nd place; Ethan Lam, 1st place

Vocabulary Test (Level 3-4-5) - Jon Staffel and Aneesh Ram, 3rd place (tie); Brooks Eikner, 2nd place

Catapult Contest (Medium) - Kyle Gan, 2nd place; Reid Chandler, 1st place

Catapult Contest (Large) - Jon Staffel, 2nd place

Costume Contest - James Smythe, 2nd place

Open Certamen (Lower Level) - Zuhair Somjee, Warren Turner, Ty Williams, 3rd place; Rob McFadden and Charles Long, 2nd place; Loyd Templeton, 1st place

Open Certamen (Upper Level) - Aneesh Ram, 3rd place; Dylan Echlin, 2nd place; Chang Yu and Sam Payne, 1st place

Feats of Strength (Boxing) - James Smythe, 1st place

Feats of Strength (Footrace) - Ethan Hurst, 3rd place; Carlo Guinocor, 2nd place

Feats of Strength (Javelin) - Loyd Templeton, 3rd place

Thanks to all of the students who got up early on a Saturday morning to participate, and congratulations to all of our winners!

Festivus Update

Late-breaking news from White Station:

Contrary to what the provided map and instructions indicate, they're now asking people to enter through the main entrance in the front of the school. Look for signs and / or people giving directions.

Semester Exam Study Guide

It is time to start thinking about semester exams. The study guide for all of my classes is posted here.

Festivus Reminders

The Latin Fall Festivus is this Saturday, November 21, at White Station High School. A list of announcements and reminders is posted here. This is only open to the Latin Club members who previously signed up to attend.

Reminders

Tomorrow is the deadline to sign up for the Festivus. This is open to all Lower School and Upper School Latin Club members. More information is posted here.

Also, a reminder about the play on Halloween night (open to Upper Schoolers only). Those who have prepaid for tickets should meet me in the lobby no later than 7:45 PM. The running time is two and a half hours, so please have rides ready at 10:30 PM. More information is posted here.

All-Star

Congratulations to MUS Latin (and French) student Will McAtee for his recognition as a Commercial Appeal Academic All-Star.

You can read the article here.

Latin Fall Festivus

Latin Fall Festivus will take place at White Station High School on Saturday, November 21 from 8:00 AM until 11:45 AM.

The information booklet is posted here.

This event is open to all MUS Upper School and Lower School Latin Club members. Anyone who wishes to go needs to sign up with his Latin teacher by Friday, October 30. Since Festivus admission is included in club dues, there's no need to turn in any money (unless you want to pre-order a Festivus T-shirt).

Halloween Event

Halloween night is "Latin Night" at Theatreworks in Midtown for a performance of Titus Andronicus, Shakespeare's play based on the "Procne and Philomela" story in Ovid's Metamorphoses. This play is, as the description indicates, "overflowing with bloodshed and unthinkable brutality," so it's perfect for Halloween.

This event is open to all MUS Upper School Latin students. (Sorry - no Lower Schoolers.) Anyone wishing to go needs to pay $15 to their Latin teacher by Friday, October 23. Checks should be made out to MUS. (Cash is OK, but it needs to be exact change.) 

More information is posted here.

Updated JCL Membership

Here is an updated list of the students who have joined the Latin Club.

Shirts and magnets should be available by the end of October.

JCL Senators

Kyle Day (Latin Four / Five), Charlie Evans (Latin Three), and Loyd Templeton (Latin Two) have been elected to serve.

JCL Membership

Here is the list of students who have joined the Latin Club. Please let me know if there are any mistakes or omissions.

Although the deadline has passed, we'll continue to accept dues for at least a few more days.

Latin Club Reminder

The membership deadline is one week from today. More information is posted here.

Also, any Upper School students who would like to appear on the senatorial ballot need to let me know by next Friday.

A CEO's Perspective on Latin

Here's an interesting article from a CEO on the importance of Latin.

"I'd much rather hire a great thinker who has never studied business than a business major who never learned to think well."

Thanks to Mrs. Reinhardt for sharing.

Latin Club Information

Information about joining the MUS chapter of the Junior Classical League is posted here.

The membership deadline is Friday, September 25, 2015.

Trip to Italy

The biennial MUS Latin trip to Italy will take place during spring break of 2016. The trip is open to all students in Latin Two and Latin Three.

It's not too late to sign up! For more information, please contact Ms. Reinhardt.

Consuls

Brooks Eikner and Dylan Echlin have been appointed as Co-Consuls of the Latin Club for the 2015-2016 school year.

Senators (grade-level representatives) will be elected in September.

Latin Club Officer Information

Students who are interested in serving as Latin Club officers for the 2015-2016 school year should read the information posted here.

Applications for the consulship are due soon - Friday, August 21.

National Latin Exam

The NLE has recently released more information about the results of the 2015 exam.

MUS ranked number one in Tennessee in the number of perfect scores:

1. MUS = 11
2. MBA = 9
3. (tie) Harpeth Hall / Houston = 4
4. White Station = 3
5. 11 schools tied with 1.

Overall, 5220 students in Tennessee participated in the contest.

AP Latin

AP scores for 2014-2015 have just been released. Out of 13 MUS AP Latin students, 100% received a 4 or a 5. (Only 34% of AP Latin students nationwide scored in this range.) The MUS AP Latin average was a remarkable 4.7. Congratulations to all of these students for a stellar performance!

Trigon

Click here for photos of the 3rd Annual Lower School Trigon Championship.

Congratulations to Walker Crosby for winning the tournament this year!

Spring 2015 Exam Study Guide

Exams will be here soon.  The study guide is posted here.

CAMWS Translation Contest

MUS had 8 students place in this year's Classical Association of the Middle West and South Latin Translation Contest:

Book Awards: Josh Benton, Chandler Clayton, Forest Colerick, Richard Ouyang

Letters of Commendation: Kyle Day, Nathan Dinh, Dylan Echlin, Patrick Murphy

This is the most winners we've ever had in a single year.  Moreover, there were only 9 winners in the entire state of Tennessee . . . and we had 8 of them.

The entire list of winners is posted here.

2015 Medusa Mythology Exam

We had a small group of students take the Medusa Mythology Exam this year.  It's a very difficult exam, but I'm pleased to report that all of them placed:

Yunhua Zhao - Silver Medal
Tom Fowlkes, Durand Martin, Richard Ouyang - Corona Laurea
Josh Benton, Jeffrey Zheng - Corona Olivae

Latin Convention

Thirty schools attended the Tennessee Junior Classical League State Convention in Gatlinburg on April 17 and 18, 2015.  I am pleased to report that MUS won the overall competition for the 8th consecutive year.

Some highlights:

All three MUS Certamen teams (Novice, Intermediate, and Advanced) won 1st place, a very rare TJCL Certamen sweep.  (In fact, I'm not sure if it's ever been done before.)

Richard Ouyang, in winning the Level Four / Five Academic Heptathlon, automatically qualifies for a full scholarship to attend the NJCL convention this summer, a prize worth about $500.

Five MUS students finished in the overall top 10 in the individual points competition: Charlie Evans, Brooks Eikner, Yunhua Zhao, Richard Ouyang, and Jackson Moody.  (Jackson tied for 1st with a student from Hume-Fogg.)

And as for the Chariot Race . . . well, there's always next year.

Convention Meeting

The meeting has been moved to Wednesday, April 15, immediately after school in the Wunderlich Auditorium.

This is mandatory for all Upper School and Lower School students who are going to the convention.

National Latin Exam Results

We have received the results of the 2015 National Latin Exam:

65 Summa Cum Laude Gold Medals

46 Maxima Cum Laude Silver Medals

12 Magna Cum Laude

12 Cum Laude

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

Special recognition goes to the students who earned perfect scores:

Latin One: Ty Williams

Latin Two: Jackson Howell, Charlie Evans, Jackson Moody, Jacob Webb, Brad Kerkhof, Benton Ferebee, Jason Wang

Latin Three: Tom Wells, Aneesh Ram, Brooks Eikner

Convention

Final convention instructions and announcements are posted here.

All students who are going on the trip must attend a meeting in the Wunderlich on Tuesday, April 14 during OP.

April

April is again Latin Language Appreciation Month in the state of Tennessee.

Read more about it here.

Convention - Olympika and Chariot Race

Anyone interested in participating in Olympika or the Chariot Race at the TJCL Convention next week needs to attend a meeting in Coach Torrey's office this Wednesday, April 8, immediately after school.

This is open to both Upper and Lower School students.

Trigon

The Lower School Roman Trigon tournament is underway.  Fill your bracket out today!

Mythology Spelling Bee

The tryout for the TJCL State Convention Mythology Spelling Bee will take place tomorrow, Wednesday, March 25, immediately after school in room SCI 2.

TJCL Convention Announcements

A correction to the previous post:

The Mythology Spelling Bee tryout will be Wednesday, March 25 at 2:20 PM in SCI 2.

Also, a reminder that all students should be preparing for TJCL Academic Testing. Study guides are posted on the "Latin Contests" class page, which may be found here. Students may log in to this page by using their regular MUS ID and password.

TJCL Convention Announcements

1. Upper Level Certamen - Practice begins this week, Wednesday and Friday mornings at 7:00 AM in SCI 2.

2. Mythology Spelling Bee - The tryout will take place Wednesday, April 1 at 2:20 PM in SCI 2.

3. Olympika / Chariot Race - The tryout / organizational meeting will take place Wednesday, April 8 at 2:20 PM in Coach Torrey's office in the Lower School.

Lower School Trigon Tournament

Anyone who would like to compete in the 3rd Annual MUS Lower School Trigon Tournament needs to sign up by Friday, March 20. The sign-up list is posted outside of LS 106. The tournament is open to all 8th graders who joined the Latin Club this year.

Latin Honor Society

Click here for the list of students who have qualified for the NJCL Latin Honor Society this year. (This is just my list, not the comprehensive MUS list.) If there are any mistakes or omissions, please let me know ASAP.

Qualifying students must be JCL members and must have an A average in Latin (Q1 + Q2 + EX1 + Q3 / 4).

Upper School students will be recognized at the evening awards ceremony on Wednesday, April 15. Lower School students will be recognized at the Order of the Owl ceremony on Friday, May 8.

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

2015 TJCL Convention

An updated list of student delegates is posted here.

The hotel rooming list is posted here.

If there are any mistakes or omissions, please let me know ASAP.

National Latin Exam

A reminder that the NLE will take place Wednesday, March 4 immediately after school in Hyde Chapel. This is a requirement for all MUS Latin students (Latin One through Latin Five). If everything goes according to plan, we will be finished by 3:15.

In addition to the practice and review done in class, I would recommend the NLE Online Practice App.

2015 TJCL Convention Delegates

Click here for the list of MUS students signed up to attend the convention.

If there are any omissions or mistakes, please let me know ASAP.

Letters About Literature

Senior Jeffrey Zheng has been recognized for his work in Letters About Literature, a competition sponsored by Humanities Tennessee.  Jeffrey's letter about literature - which he addressed to the Roman poet Catullus - has received honorable mention, which only the top 10% of papers in the state receive.

Jeffrey now advances to the next level of judging.  Overall state winners will be announced at the end of March.

TJCL Convention

We have extended the sign-up deadline to this Friday, February 27. It will not be extended past this date.

Convention information is posted here.

Thanks to those who followed directions and turned everything in on time.

Italy Trip Meeting

There will be a meeting for students and parents interested in the 2016 Spring Break trip to Italy on Tuesday, February 24 at 6:00 PM in the Wunderlich Auditorium. The trip is open to students who will be enrolled in Latin II, III, and IV next year.

If you can't make the meeting but are still interested in the trip, please contact Mrs. Reinhardt for more information.

February 13 Reminder

1. Language course selection sheets are due.

2. TJCL State Convention paperwork is due.

Deadlines

A reminder that two important things are due by next Friday, February 13:

1. Course selection sheets for next year (which applies to almost everyone)

2. Latin convention paperwork (which applies only to the students who are going)

Latin Convention

To be eligible to attend the convention, students must (1) be in the Latin Club, (2) have at least a B+ average in Latin, and (3) have the permission of the teacher.  

Moreover, students who attend the convention must (1) participate in at least one pre-convention writing contest, (2) take at least five academic tests, and (3) participate in at least one other convention activity.

The information packet for MUS students (logistics, permission slips, etc.) is posted here.

The official TJCL convention packet, which has more detailed information about all of the convention contests, is posted here.

Paperwork is due Friday, February 13.

Course Selection Sheets

It's time to think about foreign language course selection for next year.

Students should come to my office by the end of January to pick up a course selection sheet. These sheets should be signed by parents and returned by February 13, 2015.

Certamen

Latin One Certamen (Latin quiz bowl) begins next Wednesday, January 14 in LS 106. Starting then, we will practice every Wednesday and Friday morning from 7:15 to 8:00 AM. Practice will run all the way up to the Latin convention in mid-April.

Anyone who is a member of the Latin Club and who has maintained at least a B+ in Latin may try out for the team.