PRIMA Summer 2021 | Page 3

Editor ' s Note

An extraordinary school year can permit an ordinary summer .
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I am not someone who enjoys ice breakers . I recently learned that this was even noted , in writing , over thirty years ago by my preschool teacher after yet another failed escape from " Circle Time ." But by the spring of 2021 , sitting in faculty meetings , many of us had run out of things to say . So someone brought back the ice breaker . Sometimes they were fun ( what tv show should I binge watch this
weekend ?), sometimes they were goofy ( if zombies invaded ...) -- and sometimes , they were the type one ponders when writing an editor ' s note for a digital trade
publication .
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What do you see yourself doing over the break ?
Here ' s the thing about me : I love working . I like routines , organizing , and feeling prepared in August . I ordinarily pack the summer with a teaching gig , search for free online courses on teaching , and sign up for whatever free conferences there are as well . I have revamped tests , aligned curriculum , created resources -- and enjoyed it .
But not this year . For the first time in a long while , I put everything away for a couple of months . Other teacher friends of mine have done the same . What has been the result ? I still think about the past year and a half . Now , I just spend more time being proud of myself and the students for everything we did despite every difficulty thrown our way .
This Summer 2021 Issue of PRIMA is dedicated to all the things teachers and their students have done to pursue excellence in classics this year . From pages of perfect score earners to student-involved novellas , this issue offers a glimpse into what elementary , middle , and high school classics teachers have accomplished throughout a most difficult year .
Teachers underwent a particular experience during the pandemic . It will take time and patience to process everything . Until then , acknowledge how far you ' ve come , and how much your students have learned !
What do I see myself doing over the break ? Healing .
C Hayward
C A T H E R I N E H A Y W A R D Editor
This issue is a celebration of achievement . We celebrate your students in the ETC Exams & Contests Perfect Papers feature on page 17 , which lists those who earned a perfect score on an ETC event during the 2020-2021 school year . I recommend that you take a moment to admire the sheer number of students and teachers on this list , and acknowledge that under the most challenging of circumstances , you continued to inspire your students to pursue an interest in mythology and Latin .
On page 25 , Katy Reddick shares how she uses an under-discussed feature of Pear Deck to spark enthusiasm for writing in the
classroom .
Our Latin novella enthusiast Dr . Chris Buczek introduces us to new works on page 29 , which include a few student-created pieces to add to your library .
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