2019 TJCL Convention

A total of 32 schools from around the state gathered in Chattanooga this weekend for the 63rd annual convention of the Tennessee Junior Classical League. I am pleased to report that MUS finished in 1st place overall for the 12th consecutive year. 

A dedicated group of 41 Upper School and Lower School students made up the MUS delegation, and all of them contributed in some way to the 1421 points that we scored as a team. 

Some highlights:

• Top scorers for MUS were Kerry Zhao, Mark Hieatt, Will Schuessler, and Forest Rudd, all of whom scored enough points to finish in the individual top ten.
• The Latin Two Certamen team won 1st place.
• Akbar Latif was elected as 1st Vice-President of TJCL for the 2019-2020 school year, the first time in almost a decade that MUS will have a student officer in this organization.

The Championship Trophy

The Spirit Contest

A final Certamen practice in the hotel lobby. The NFL draft provided only a modest distraction.

2019 CAMWS Latin Translation Contest

We have received the results of the 2019 Classical Association of the Middle West and South Latin Translation Contest, a competition that took place back in November.

A total of 26 MUS students received recognition in this year's contest. MUS had more winners than all of the other schools in Tennessee combined.

Approximately 1000 high school students from around the CAMWS region participated in this year's competition. Generally speaking, the cash award winners score in the top 2 to 3 percent, the book award winners represent the top 5 to 6 percent, and the students who earn certificates of commendation score in the top 20 percent.

Latin Two:

Cash Award: Mark Hieatt

Book Award: Kerry Zhao, Forest Rudd, Turner Bishop

Certificates of Commendation: Collin Craft, Matthew Mellone, Jack Zaptin

Latin Three:

Cash Awards: Hart Gowen, Ryan Peng 

Book Award: Max Shackelford

Certificates of Commendation: Cooper Grinspun, Will Schuessler, J.P. Wood, Fawwaz Omer, Walker Burks, Cullen Lonergan, Watts Miller, Samy Paul, Holden Pate

Latin Four:

Cash Award: Rob McFadden

Book Awards: Arjun Puri, Reid Chandler, Kyle Koester

Certificates of Commendation: Will Portera, Gregory Guo, Jonathan Huang

Convention Update

All students going to convention should have received a packet of final announcements and reminders. We have a mandatory meeting scheduled for these students on Tuesday, April 23 in the Wunderlich Auditorium during OP.

These students are also encouraged to sign up for TJCL updates via text. Details - and other information - are posted here.

National Latin Exam Results

We have received the results of the 2019 National Latin Exam:

75  Summa Cum Laude Gold Medals
33  Maxima Cum Laude Silver Medals
24  Magna Cum Laude
11  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 students who earned perfect scores this year:

Latin One: Kevin Ma, Varun Krishnamurthi, Jaxon Hammond
Latin Two: Forest Rudd, Simeon Betapudi, Collin Craft
Latin Three: J.P. Wood, Fawwaz Omer, Max Shackelford

Congratulations to all of the students who received recognition in this year's contest!