Wellington
Aquila Simmons
Since January 2017, Sycamore High School’s Latin Club has been in a flurry of activity. With OJCL convention closing in, our devoted 5 high schoolers and 9 junior high students were hard at work, forging new traditions and rediscovering old ones.
Andrew Phillips and Josh Williams, two of the most hardened veterans of the Latin program, were especially active in helping to prepare spirit and ensure uniformity among the delegates. From sunglasses to foam swords and Hawaiian shirts, they debated for hours on end about the right costumes for our spirit entries. On the other hand, our more graphically-inclined students worked hard to create our banner and paint our newly-created spirit cheers in time to share with the junior high students.
While our leaders were developing new ways to improve Sycamore’s OJCL pride and commitment, we also rediscovered a remnant from the (not so distant) past. Deep in the Latin closet’s archives, Magister Minion and a select few students chanced upon a strange banner, known only as “THE FUNGUS”. This object, of unknown provenance (if you know where it comes from, please tell me), became our standard for this year’s OJCL convention. Already rumors have begun to fly around this mysterious artifact. Some claim that it was once a failed graphic arts project, while others believe it to be a gift from the heavens to Sycamore. In any case, it has become a rallying-point for pride and a tradition re-born.
At the 2017 OJCL convention, Sycamore delegates were amazed by both the exceptional community and spirit of the OJCL as well as the amount of activities they could participate in. Alex Ma and Ashna Prakash, in particular, took advantage of their first OJCL experience by performing our Trojan-horse inspired Role Call. Also, wide-eyed 7th graders were rapidly inspired by the creative arts contests and are especially eager for next year’s contests. Also, Sycamore Certamen teams also dipped their feet into the competitive pool, and the Upper Level team came in 4th place overall. But most impressively, Sycamore received the award for Greatest Percent Increase, a total of 700% increase of delegates from last year. With an extremely positive reaction to this year’s convention, we are sure that this upward trend will continue well into the future.
As Sycamore Latin Club looks forward to the next phase of the year, we have bright plans for future meetings. For the first time, we are planning a joint Latin club “Toga Bowling” with Wyoming, to encourage a common JCL spirit in both these schools. Also, festivities for one of our 4 major events, Rome’s birthday, will start off with lots of food (and a little grape-juice toasting, too).
At the Senior Send-off, the last meeting of the year, Sycamore Latin students of all ages will converge to meet, wrap up the year, and pay our respects to the departing seniors. This year, we will send off several seniors, including devoted Latin club member and OJCL delegate Andrew Phillips.
In summation, Sycamore Latin Club has had an outstanding 2016-2017 year and looks forward for the events and year to come.
Sycamore
Grant Bruner
Left: Carolyn Zhang, Consul, and Allyson Bonhaus, Scribe, paint a Lararium
35 OJCL TORCH: Chapter Updates Spring MMXVII https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjB6MPV-L3RAhVMNiYKHUL8A4EQjRwIBw&url=https%3A%2F%2Fmagistrabush.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F09%2F23%2Fjcl-t-shirt-contest%2F&psig=AFQjCNHBUl5DxFMgey96R-DH1Oh37W6Q0A&ust=1484356401987376
Left: Sam Katz, a senior from Shaker Heights, enjoying his time at Fall Forum
he Wellington School Latin club is excited after their 4th place overall per capita finish at OJCL Convention and is looking forward to finishing off the year with spring growth. Now is the time of year when the 8th graders are encouraged to join all the high school events and this year the club hopes to hold the first ever classics scavenger hunt.The club is also excited about spring service in the central region and is looking forward to the rest of the year.