Six area Latin students and three Latin teachers attended the National Junior Classical League Convention 2015 at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas, this summer.
The annual event took place July 27 through Aug. 1 and was attended by more than 1,600 Latin students and teachers from 35 states, according to a news release from Meg Cook, Latin teacher at Winthrop High School.
Students who attended the convention spent a week on a college campus and participated daily in activities including the spirit contest, academic tests, athletic competitions, graphic arts contests and creative arts contests. In addition, students attended seminars and workshops about Latin and classical subjects, and elect the NJCL officers for the next school year.
The Maine delegation won three daily mentions in the small state category in the spirit contest (2nd, 2nd and 3rd out of four days) and came in third overall for the week. Spirit includes daily costumes and props, as well as organized cheers. Maine received several other state awards, including: 2nd place in the T-shirt contest, most creative design, and 2nd place in the publicity contest for percentage of state chapters entered. Winthrop High School’s publicity notebook was ranked 23rd overall.
Several individual students also won awards in athletic and creative arts events. They are:
Siana Emery, Greely High School, 1st senior girls marathon, 2nd senior girls 800 meter run, 3rd senior girls long jump.
Connor Kreider, Nokomis High School, 5th senior boys 400 meter run, 2nd Ludi Soccer (on the “Millinois” team, a combination of Maine and Illinois students).
Teresa Easterbrooks, Winthrop High School, 3rd Essay contest, grade 12.
Other students attending the convention included Natalie Hodgman, of Hampden Academy; Sarah Truman, of Cony High School; and Evan Gaudette, of John Bapst Memorial High School. The students were accompanied by Latin teachers Sarah Moore, of Cony High School; Seth Knowles, of Greely High School; and Cook. The 2016 Convention will take place at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana at the end of July.
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