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Bene!
That's “well done!” in Latin, a message that keeps rolling in for students in the south Charlotte suburbs who've aced recent competitions centering on the ancient language.
On the National Latin Exam, five area students were among just 917 students in the U.S. and other countries to earn “perfect” scores: Sian Lewis-Bevan, a sophomore at Charlotte Latin School in south Charlotte; eighth-grader Peter Saunders and sophomore Bryce Stout of Covenant Day School in Matthews; freshman Mary Barron and sophomore Matthew Coleman of Westminster Catawba Christian School in Rock Hill, S.C.
Several area schools ranked among the top at the N.C. Junior Classical League state convention, held earlier this month at Wake Forest University.
And Latin is allowing “a dream come true” for Providence High senior Laura Santander. She's heading to Oxford University in the fall, enrolling in a four-year “Litterae Humaniores” course covering literature, art, archaeology and philosophy.
“I bumped into Latin as a 4th grader with a Latin version of Dr. Seuss' ‘Green Eggs and Ham,' and since then I haven't looked back,” said Santander via e-mail.
Here's the draw about Latin, students and teachers say: Studying the language and the classics provides an academic boost in a range of subjects, from English to science to history to foreign languages.
Teachers say Latin appeals to students with a strong work ethic, and interest in art, writing and public speaking.
Plus, “Latin textbooks have taken a leaf out of modern textbooks,” said Caroline Kelly, classics teacher at Covenant Day. Storylines involve teens, and lessons are supplemented with CD and computer activities.
In clubs and competitions, students revel with peers who love mythology, history, grammar, drama and Latin readings as much as they do.
Witness the goofiness at last week's year-end party for Providence High School's Junior Classical League at the south Charlotte school, where students in tie-dyed togas distributed awards inspired by characters from Roman and Greek mythology and legend. (The “Helen Award” went to the flirtiest, for example.)
But when times get serious in class, Latin can help.
Master's Academy home school sixth-grader Anna Schoeck finds, when studying grammar, that new vocabulary words become familiar thanks to Latin.
When Marshall Winchester, a three-time contestant in the National Spelling Bee, aged out of that competition, Latin became a natural next step.
“Latin is so wonderful because the grammar is just so complete,” said Winchester, a Bradford Academy junior. “You can take any subject and break it down.”
Simply put, says Katelyn Mullins of Master's Academy, Latin is to her “what math is to other people.”
