Ocean Lakes Junior Classical League
This year we had one goal : to spread Latin and the Classics in the Tidewater Area ( Virginia Beach , Norfolk , Suffolk , Hampton ) because in recent years the number of Latin Students in our area has been decreasing , and we did not want the language that we love to soon disappear from the area that we call home .
To make matters worse , when we started our journey of increasing participation in Latin , we were the only school in Virginia Beach that had an actively meeting Junior Classical League . We knew that if we could establish more Junior Classical Leagues at other schools in our area , we would take a big step in the direction of keeping Latin alive .
So , how could we do this ?
Our solution was to create the Beach Classical League . The Beach Classical League is a culmination of all of the chapters in our area along with students and teachers at schools that don ' t have chapters but would like to create one . Our league meets once a month and all Latin students in the Tidewater area are welcome . We play virtual Latin games and discuss an important event in Roman history at every meeting . For example , at the last meeting , we learned about the outrageous and over-the-top Nika Riots .
Our impact was clear after only a few monthly meetings . For the first time , Tallwood High School in Virginia Beach created their very own Junior Classical League Chapter because they had so much fun at our meetings and wanted to share that experience with more people at their school .
What are some other ways we decided to spread Latin this year ?
With our Beach Classical League , we founded Certamen teams at 3-4 new schools in just a few months and are currently planning and preparing for our very own , first-ever annual Tidewater Certamen tournament in the Spring ! We decided that Certamen was a great way to increase the Latin involvement in our area , as students love the fun and competitive way to learn about and immerse themselves in the Classics .
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