Middle School Torch | Page 19

Daniel Newgarden 2020-21 NJCL President

Salvete Omnes! My name is Daniel Newgarden and I am the 2020-2021 NJCL President. I am glad that you have take the important and exciting step of engaging with NJCL and the wider JCL community. Since you're exploring a community so near and dear to my heart, I wanted to take this opportunity to tell you about JCL and what it means to me. I first got involved with JCL in the 9th grade (though I had played certamen through the Illinois Certamen League in the seventh and eighth grades) and I can still remember how surreal it was walking into the Itasca Westin and being surrounded by hundreds of students who loved classics as much as I do. That experience — being surrounded by a caring community of students committed to the study of the ancient world — is something that's stayed with me. It's guided my journey through JCL, from the school, to the state, to the national level. I hope you can find as much value in it as I did, especially as we were able to meet virtually this year and in-person next year at Louisiana State University!

Summit Country Day School

-Irene Calderon, OJCL

Here at The Summit, our Latin program is one of the most active for middle schools. All sixth graders are required to take Introduction to Latin, where they are introduced to classical mythology and vocabulary. Students who choose to continue in Latin take Latin I over their remaining two years in middle school, eventually going through a classroom curriculum that goes to AP Latin and even Honors Ancient Greek. Middle schoolers here are well-connected with the Upper School’s Latin Club, which promotes academics, the arts, friendship and community service.

They participate in the Celebration of the Classics, an annual academic event during which students connect with either the Iliad, Odyssey,  Metamorphosis, or Aeneid through art projects, presentations, academic tests and Certamen. In addition, they have the opportunity to join weekly Latin Lunches, meet frequently after school, cozy up with a pizza during the popular movie nights, and help serve the community during the Latin Club’s trips to Matthew 25: Ministries, an international humanitarian aid and disaster relief organization. And, despite the pandemic, students have remained active with their academic and service activities in a safe environment.

*These pictures were taken before the pandemic.