Congratulations to the students of
the University City High School Latin Club on winning numerous awards,
recognitions, and elected offices at the 2013 Missouri Junior Classical League
(MOJCL) Convention. They competed against students from across
the state (this year St. Louis was represented by SLUH, MICDS, and UCHS) in a
selection of Latin/classics-related activities and competitions over the course
of a weekend in April.
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| Costumes and dramatic interpretation are part of the fun at the annual MOJCL convention. |
Beginning with a spirited “Romecoming” social event, students spent the weekend demonstrating their skills in oral
recitations, photography, art, the creation of original “impromptu art” and
“modern myths,” chess, costumes, dramatic interpretation, and the king of all MOJCL events, the Certamen
tournament.
Certamen, Latin for “competition,” is a quiz bowl–style competition between four-student teams from the various schools in which they answer questions related to Latin and classics studies. In 2011, the UCHS team were the state Certamen champions, and this year’s team fought valiantly to regain the title but unfortunately lost to SLUH (our friendly Latin rivals) in the exciting semi-finals.
Certamen, Latin for “competition,” is a quiz bowl–style competition between four-student teams from the various schools in which they answer questions related to Latin and classics studies. In 2011, the UCHS team were the state Certamen champions, and this year’s team fought valiantly to regain the title but unfortunately lost to SLUH (our friendly Latin rivals) in the exciting semi-finals.
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| The UCHS Certamen team waits for competition to begin. |
Prior to convention, students take
a series of written exams for which they can receive awards. UCHS typically brings home a bounty of these
awards, and 2013 was no different:
Derivatives, Level 4
1st Place - Ethan Farber
2nd Place - Anna Soifer
5th Place - Grace Deitzler
Derivatives, Level 3
5th Place - Henry Braeske
Grammar, Level 4
1st place - Daniel Politte
History and Culture, Level 4
1st Place - Dan Politte
History and Culture, Level 3
4th Place - Walter Deitzler
Mythology, Level 4
1st Place - Anna Soifer
2nd Place - Ethan Farber
Mythology, Level 3
4th Place - Andrew White
Elections are also held each year at convention, and UCHS students have a long tradition of filling officer positions. This year, junior Deanna Pace was elected 2013-14 Historian, and soon-to-be alumna Grace Deitzler was elected Historian for the Missouri Classical League, the university-level counterpart to MOJCL.
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| Deanna Pace gives her campaign speech as outgoing MOJCL President UCHS senior Ethan Farber looks on. |
The accolades don’t end at convention, however. Three
UCHS AP Latin students, Dan Politte, Anna Soifer, and Ethan Farber, took the prestigious National Latin
Exam (NLE) this year as well. The exam consists of 40 questions
covering topics including grammar, comprehension, derivatives, mythology,
historical background, classic literature, and literary devices and is
administered according to the level of study the student has completed. As top
scorers, Dan and Ethan were awarded gold medals and summa cum laude certificates,
and Anna received a magna cum laude certificate for her
third-place finish.
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| Anna, Ethan, and Dan UCHS 2013 National Latin Exam participants |
To all of our talented and energetic Latin students we say a resounding, Macte virtute! Factum optime!
Surprised to learn that UCity offers Latin? Wondering why anyone would even want to study Latin in this modern age? Curious about what other great Latin-related things our students are doing? Stay tuned - there is more to come!
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