This week, Latin teacher Eugénie Fawcett wrote to me to share that on January 15, “The Pioneer Valley Classical Association held its annual Classics Day at Mount Holyoke College, and Berkshire Country Day School was one of nine schools in attendance. BCD’s Latin students, in grades seven, eight, and nine, enjoyed participating in workshops and contests with over 300 peers (in grades seven through twelve) from Academy Hill, Amherst, Lenox, MacDuffie, Reid, Pittsfield, Taconic and Williston.”
Every middle school and high school student present must attend a workshop and enter one of the contests. Individuals memorize and recite specific Latin passages for the Oral Interpretation Contest, make and wear a costume for the Costume Contest, or create a painting, mosaic, sculpture or model, with a Greek or Roman theme, for the Art Contest. Schools may enter teams of four in the Latin or mythology certamina, which are run like quiz bowls. In addition, docents at the Mount Holyoke College Museum hold workshops, during which students don gloves and handle and inspect ancient coins.
Once again, BCD’s students were well-prepared and demonstrated their advanced skills and passion for learning and Latin. Competing against students in grades 7-12, BCD students received the following awards:
CLASSICS DAY 2016 AWARD WINNERS
ORAL INTERPRETATION:
Advanced Prose – First Place: ninth grader Sam F.*
Advanced Poetry – First Place: eighth grader Fiona F. ; Third Place eighth grader Ria K.
Novice Poetry – Second Place: seventh grader Beck M.; Third Place: eighth grader Nina R.
CERTAMEN:
Latin 2 – First Place: BCD team of ninth graders Nico C., Sam F.*, Finn M.*, and Toby V.S.
Latin 1 – Second Place: BCD team of eighth graders Alex C. and Ria K. and seventh graders Beck M. and Harrison S.
Myth – First Place: BCD Brown team of ninth graders Tibor L. and Finn M.*, eighth grader Fiona F., and seventh grader Colby L.; Second Place BCD Beige team comprised of ninth graders Sam F.* and Toby V.S.*, eighth grader Wilder H., and seventh grader Max B.
ART CONTEST:
Sculpture: – Third Place: seventh grader Stella M.
Paintings and Drawings: – First Place: eighth grader Lanna K.
Mosaics: First Place: eighth grader Fiona F; Third Place: seventh grader Max B.
Military: – Second Place: ninth grader Tibor L.
Models: – First Place: eighth grader Isis H.
COSTUME CONTEST:
First Place: eighth grader Lanna K. as Athena
Third Place: eighth grader Fiona F. as Nike
* Sam F., Finn M., and Toby V.S. have won awards three years in a row.
Congratulations to Mrs. Fawcett and to all of our BCD Upper School students!
All sixth graders at BCD begin their study of Latin, a program offered through the ninth grade. Latin is an important and distinctive core program at BCD for many reasons including:
- Most of the English language is composed of words that come from Latin or Greek words, with Latin being the larger of the two. Students who learn Latin vocabulary are exposed to the Latin root words, prefixes, and suffixes, thus strengthening their English vocabulary.
- Studying Latin expands students’ vocabulary and enhances their reading comprehension skills, thus benefiting their study of other subjects. Furthermore, because Latin students must read carefully for proper translation, they develop the habit of reading closely for accuracy.
- Through understanding how to translate back and forth between Latin and English, Latin increases comparative analysis skills and improves critical thinking skills.
- Latin offers a very in-depth study of literature and history.
- Students that have studied Latin tend to have better writing skills because they have learned to express their thoughts clearly and concisely. And, although English does not derive directly from Latin, most of its grammatical rules do.