November 2009 Archives

1. Saturnalia is scheduled for Tuesday, December 8 in the Wunderlich Auditorium during OP.  JCL members are invited to come join in the holiday food and festivity.

2. The MUS JCL has adopted a 4-year-old boy as a part of the Salvation Army's Angel Tree program.  We are asking all JCL members to donate $1.00 by December 8.  The officers will collect the donations and purchase gifts for our adoptee.

We have two weeks of class after Thanksgiving, and then semester exams begin. 

For all of my classes, a portion of the exam will be scantron, and a portion will be a sight translation (i.e., a translation we haven't ever seen before).  All students will be allowed to use a Latin-English dictionary for this portion of the exam ONLY. 

So, if you don't have a dictionary, you need to go ahead and get one.  You can probably purchase a used one via Amazon or Ebay for less than a dollar, or you could buy a new one at most any local bookstore (Borders, Barnes and Noble, etc.) for $5 or $10.  I always recommend the "New College" dictionary, published by Bantam.  Here are links to the old and new editions available on Amazon.

I'll try to have detailed exam study guides ready by December 1.

This year, we are going to offer all MUS Latin students the opportunity to take the Medusa Mythology Exam, an annual competition for classical mythology students in grades 6-12.

We will not have time to prepare specifically for the Medusa in class, so it will only be open to students who (1) like classical mythology and (2) are motivated to prepare for the exam independently.  This would be good practice for the exams at the TJCL State Convention, and of course, students who qualify for medals and certificates will earn an impressive credential for their resumes.  (Caveat: The Medusa is usually much more difficult than the National Latin Exam.)

We will likely administer the exam at 2:15 PM on Wednesday, March 24, 2010.

Here is a link to the Medusa Exam website.

Invictus, a film from director Clint Eastwood, is coming to theaters in a couple of weeks.

This isn't a film about classical civilization per se, but it's probably the first major Hollywood production to have a Latin title since Quo Vadis? in the 1950s.  (Invictus means "unconquered.")  Here's a link to the trailer.