(from press release)
Riverhead Latinists traveled to Stony Brook University for the Suffolk County Classics Society’s 6th Annual Declamatio, an academic contest for which students memorize and then dramatically recite (or “declaim,” hence the Latin word “Declamatio”) a passage from Latin literature (ancient or modern) to a panel of judges. The Riverhead Latinists maintained their winning record by taking 10 out of a possible 13 places while competing against nine other schools from Long Island (which included Half Hollow Hills, Commack, Mercy High School, Three Village, Port Jefferson, Westhampton Beach, etc.). In the first six years of the Declamatio, Riverhead has established itself as the Latin program to beat.
The Riverhead Latin Program has again confirmed its status as a dominant force in the special, selective subculture of Classical Studies on Long Island. Riverhead School District’s Latin program is recognized throughout the State for its excellence!
Riverhead’s Middle School is one of only a few schools nation-wide that offers its students an opportunity to take Latin. Middle School Latin students are also given the opportunity to participate in the school’s Latin Club, which hosts a Roman Banquet each year. This year the Middle School Latinists took all three places in their level of competition, which was a repeat of last year’s winning record.
When asked how they became interested in taking Latin, the Declamatio winners often pointed to a parent or teacher who told them taking Latin would strengthen their overall performance in school. There certainly seems to be a correlation between Latin and academic excellence in the Riverhead School District. Many of Riverhead High School’s recent and past valedictorians excelled in Latin and/or continued their studies (often in Latin and Classical Studies) at very prestigious colleges. Last year’s valedictorian and former Declamatio standout, Allyson Bunch, is currently a Classical Studies major at Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania. Allyson was the fifth valedictorian in the last five years from Riverhead High School to attend a top-ranked college who chose to major in Classical Studies: 2008, Allyson Bunch, Classical Studies at Bryn Mawr; 2007, Tara McKenna, Classics at Duke; 2006 Kirstin Krusell, Classics at Brown; 2005, Erin McKenna, Classics at Harvard; 2004, Jessica Lamont, Classics at William and Mary.
Accompanying the Latinists and their Latin teachers and coaches, Lorene Custer and Dr. Jeff Greenberger, was RMS math teacher Pat Passanante, who once taught Latin at the middle school prior to Ms. Custer’s arrival. Ms. Passanante was one of the judges this year.
“I was very impressed with Riverhead’s Latinists,” stated Ms. Passanante. “All of Riverhead’s contestants introduced themselves, told the judges something about the piece they had chosen, and then presented their recitation in a dramatic manner that assured the judges that they were not just memorizing the Latin but also understood the dramatic content of their passages.”
“Excellence in Latin has a long history in the Riverhead schools. Latin was part of the curriculum from the very beginning of the district’s inception,” states Ms. Custer. “We feel very privileged to be part of that history.”
At the high school level, students have often already taken two years of Latin with Ms. Custer. After studying at the high school with Dr. Greenberger (Latin I, II, III, and IV), they can often carry six credits of Latin into their choice of colleges. Riverhead High School also offers its students Ancient Greek I.
In a New York Times Op-Ed essay, Harry Mount, author of “Carpe Diem: Put a Little Latin in Your Life,” pointed to the National Latin Exam numbers as evidence of an increasing interest in Latin studies. In the 1977, 6,000 students took the exam, and in 2005, that number was 134,873.
“Know Latin and you discern the Roman layer that lies beneath the skin of the Western world,” says Mount, pointing to one reason Latin educators say knowledge of it benefits an educated person.
President Thomas Jefferson, Mount wrote, studied Latin and Greek at age 9, and when he opened the University of Virginia, he employed classically trained professors. Mount says that of the 40 presidents since Jefferson, 31 have studied Latin, many at high levels. Latin education proponent Web sites include W. E. B. Dubois as one of the famous people who studied and taught Latin.
Congratulations, Latinists!
Photo Caption: Peter Cybulski recites his Declamatio piece.
Tags: Riverhead, college, schools, teens by Nancy
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