Convention

Final convention instructions and reminders are posted here. Please read them. (N.B.: The white shirts have not arrived yet. They'll be here soon.)

A map of the University of Memphis campus is posted here.

Latin Language Appreciation Month

Governor Haslam has once again honored MUS's request to proclaim the month of April as Latin Language Appreciation Month in the state of Tennessee. You can read the full proclamation here.

Latin Honor Society

Congratulations to the students who have qualified for the NJCL Latin Honor Society this year. The list is posted here.

Upper School students will be recognized at an evening awards ceremony on April 13. Lower Schoolers will be recognized at the Order of the Owl ceremony on May 6.

Convention

We have two convention tryouts scheduled for after school on Wednesday, March 30:

1. Olympika / Chariot Race - Coach Torrey's office
2. Mythology Spelling Bee - S2

Anyone who is interested in these activities but who is unable to attend these meetings needs to notify Coach Torrey or Mr. Sellers ASAP.

Students should be advised of convention scheduling conflicts. The Mythology Spelling Bee overlaps with the second half of Academic Testing, and Olympika overlaps with Certamen.

All students who are attending the convention are reminded to take advantage of the study guides and resources we have posted on the Latin Contests page on Haiku.

CAMWS Latin Translation Contest

We have received the results of the 2015-2016 Classical Association of the Middle West and South Latin Translation Contest.

906 high school students at 50 different schools in 19 different states participated in this year's competition.

MUS winners:

Intermediate, Level Three:

Certificate of Commendation (finishing in the top 20%): Josiah Crutchfield, Charlie Evans, Brad Kerkhof, Jackson Moody, Tyler Rakers, Will Schneider, Jacob Webb, Chang Yu

Advanced, Level Four:

Book Award (top 7%): Aneesh Ram

Certificate of Commendation (top 20%): Brooks Eikner, Jacob Suppiah, Henry Trammell, Tom Wells

Advanced, Level Five:

Certificate of Commendation (top 20%): Kyle Day

MUS had more winners than any other school in Tennessee.

Complete results will be posted on the CAMWS website later this semester.

Bubones on Twitter

Mr. Gagliano has established a new Twitter account for the MUS Latin program. Follow this account for updates on the MUS Latin trip to Italy.

Convention List

This is the list of students who have signed up for the TJCL State Convention in April. If there are any mistakes or omissions, please let me know as soon as possible.

National Latin Exam

The National Latin Exam will be administered on Wednesday, March 2 from 2:15-3:15 PM in Hyde Chapel. This is required for all students currently enrolled in Latin - from Latin One through Latin Five.

In addition to the review and practice all students are doing in class, I recommend that students take advantage of the NLE Online Practice App.

Deadlines

A reminder that completed course selection sheets are due one week from today - Friday, February 12. This applies to all of my Latin One and Latin Three students. Information is posted here.

For the students who are going to the TJCL State Convention in April, registration paperwork is also due on Friday, February 12. Convention information is posted here.

TJCL State Convention

Information about the Latin convention is posted here. This is open to both Lower School and Upper School students who meet the stated requirements.

The comprehensive TJCL packet is posted here.

The sign-up deadline is Friday, February 12.

Course Selection

All of my current Latin One and Latin Three students need to come to my office to pick up a language course selection sheet for next year. This should be done by Friday, January 29. The sheet should be returned to me by Friday, February 12.

Options for current Latin One students:

Accelerated Latin Two
Accelerated Spanish One
Regular Spanish One
Regular French One

To qualify for either accelerated class, the student needs to have at least a B+ in Latin One. (Accelerated classes are more challenging, but they do come with a GPA boost. All Upper School Latin classes are classified as accelerated.) For motivated students who can handle six academic classes, it is perfectly fine to sign up for more than one language.

As for the Latin Three students, for most of them, Latin Three satisfies the graduation requirement. For those who want to continue in Latin, there are two options:

Advanced Placement Latin (at least a B+ in Latin Three is recommended)
Advanced Readings in Latin (a course designed for students who want / need a fourth year of Latin on their transcript but who do not feel prepared for the demands of AP)

Lower School Certamen

Latin One Certamen practice started this morning. It will continue for the next several months on Wednesday and Friday mornings, from 7:15-8:00 AM in LS 106. This is open to all students who joined the Latin Club. It's a fun activity, and it's an important part of our preparation for the TJCL State Convention in April.

Upper Level Certamen continues to meet on Wednesday mornings, from 7:15-8:00 AM in US 216. Everyone in Latin Three, Four, and Five is invited to participate.

Twitter Kerfuffle

Here's a funny story about a local Latin teacher (and MUS parent) who has made international news this week because of a Twitter mix-up. Poor bloke.

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.