OPENING LETTER
Dear JCL state chairs, sponsors, state and local officers, and JCLers,
Salvete, omnes!
For over a decade, the National Junior Classical League has sponsored an annual celebration called National Classics Week, during which classicists from around the world are encouraged to participate by organizing activities and events, designed to promote Greco-Roman culture, throughout the week. The aim is to publicize the classics while having fun and giving back to our communities. To commemorate the founding of Rome, National Classics Week this year will commence on Friday, April 21, and conclude on Thursday, April 27.
Consistent with the theme for the Junior Classical League this year,“ Omnis ars naturae imitatio est”( all art is but an imitation of nature), this year’ s National Classics Week is inspired by the Muses, goddesses of art. Each day will be represented by a different Muse, with the exception of Polyhymnia and Erato. In this packet, you will find a description of the daily themes, along with several suggestions of ways to incorporate each one into your chapter’ s activities.
We all know that the Muses were invoked in the making of many masterpieces. Their mother was Mnemosyne, the Titaness of memory. Thus, this week is all about remembering Greece and Rome and acknowledging how pervasive these civilizations are in the modern world.
Should you have any comments or questions, please feel free to contact any of the NJCL officers, particularly President Lyle Seeligson, First Vice President Emmalee Volk, or Second Vice President Trini Kechkian. We wish you all the best of luck planning and participating in a masterpiece of a celebration!
Maximas gratias vobis agimus.
-Your 2016-2017 NJCL Officers