This week, Latin teacher Eugénie Fawcett wrote to me to share that, “The Pioneer Valley Classical Association held its annual Classics Day at Mount Holyoke College on January 16, and Berkshire Country Day School was one of more than eleven schools in attendance. BCD’s Latin students, in grades seven, eight, and nine, enjoyed participating in workshops and contests with their peers from Academy Hill, Amherst, Belchertown, Jabish Brook, 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.
CLASSICS DAY 2015 AWARD WINNERS
ORAL INTERPRETATION:
Greek – 1st Place – Ninth grader Alex L.
Intermediate Poetry – 1st Place – Eighth grader Sam F.
Novice Poetry – 3rd Place – Seventh grader Fiona F.
CERTAMEN:
Latin 2 – 1st Place – BCD Team: Eighth grader Sam F., and Ninth Graders Alex L., Julian L., & Evan S.
Latin I – 1st Place – BCD Team: Seventh graders Alex C. and Ria K., and Eighth graders Finn M. and Toby V.S.
Myth – 1st Place – BCD Team: Eighth graders Sam F., Finn M., Tibor L., & Taylor S.
ART CONTEST:
Mosaics – 1st Place – Seventh grader Fiona F., and 2nd Place – Seventh grader Alex C.
Model – 2nd Place – Seventh grader Isis H., and 3rd Place – Eighth grader Hayley S.
Painting/Drawing – 3rd Place – Seventh grader Nina R.
COSTUME CONTEST:
2nd Place – Seventh grader Diba D. (as Vesta)
Congratulations to Mrs. Fawcett and 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 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.