This was an exciting week for our Latin program at MICDS! Thirty-eight students earned high rankings on the National Latin Exam, and our seventh-grade Latin students went on a field trip to the Cathedral Basilica and the St. Louis Art Museum.
National Latin Exam
Latin students in seventh through 12th grades took the National Latin Exam in early March. According to the NLE syllabus, the exam provides “an opportunity for students to demonstrate their knowledge of Latin and the Roman world on a test consisting of 40 multiple-choice questions. The exam focuses on the student’s ability to read and comprehend Latin as outlined in the American Classical League’s Standards for Classical Languages.” Learn more about the exam here. While the lower-level NLEs have some focus on culture, history, geography, and mythology, the upper-level exams focus more on literary analysis, grammatical forms, and genre.
Here’s what some of our Latin students shared about the exams:
- «The NLE was a great way to test my overall knowledge of Latin!» –Tara Sadasivam ’27
- «This was my first time taking the NLE and it was quite intimidating until I got the test in front of me, then I realized I was well prepared for it.» –Lola Compton ’27
- «The NLE is a really good way to show how we are doing in Latin, and we also get to see how our peers are doing.» –Charlie Krieger ’27
- «The National Latin Exam was a great way to test our knowledge of Latin. I studied very hard, and I’m glad it was reflected in my results.» –Catherine Cai ’27
Congratulations, Latin students!
Latin 400
Carter White ’24 (Silver Maxima Cum Laude)
Davis Schukar ’24 (Silver Maxima Cum Laude)
Ellie Coverdell ’24 (Silver Maxima Cum Laude)
Latin 300
Aniket Joshi ’25 (Gold Summa Cum Laude)
Sanjana Gandhi ’25 (Gold Summa Cum Laude)
Nina Willis ’25 (Gold Summa Cum Laude)
Norah Wright ’25 (Silver Maxima Cum Laude)
Isaac Taylor ’25 (Magna Cum Laude)
James Karslake ’25 (Cum Laude)
Latin 200
Laurion Nicholson ’26 (Magna Cum Laude)
Narya Phatak ’26 (Magna Cum Laude)
Abhiram Madala ’26 (Magna Cum Laude)
Katherine Rose Ellenhorn ’26 (Cum Laude)
Zoe Dickherber ’26 (Cum Laude)
Oscar Sun ’26 (Cum Laude)
Grade 8 (Latin 100B)
Gold Medal (Summa Cum Laude):
Navya Reddy ’27 (perfect score)
Cameron Cozad ’27 (perfect score)
Bryce Kundel ’27
Catherine Cai ’27
Tara Sadasivam ’27
Silver Medal (Maxima Cum Laude):
Lola Compton ’27
Chloe Collins ’27
Josie Ciaramita ’27
Julian Fundler ’27
Grace Maher ’27
Magna Cum Laude:
Charlie Krieger ’27
Trevor Martin ’27
Christopher Kline ’27
Grade 7 (Latin 100A)
Gold Medal (Summa Cum Laude):
Sanjay Malhotra ’28
Anna Ko ’28
Wyatt Schuckman ’28
Silver Medal (Maxima Cum Laude):
Mabel Dando ’28
Dane Joyce ’28
Eleanor Kline ’28
Magna Cum Laude:
Kethan Doshi ’28
Yusuf Siddiqui ’28
Thomas Kastor ’28
Cum Laude:
Logan Niemeier ’28
«It’s remarkable to see our students continually performing at a nationally ranked level in Latin,» said Dr. Gabe Grabarek, Upper School Latin & Greek Teacher. «It’s a true testament to their work ethic and dedication.»
Seventh-Grade Latin Field Trip
On Tuesday, Latin students in Middle School Latin Teacher Natalie Griffin’s class enjoyed private docent-led tours of the Cathedral Basilica and the St. Louis Art Museum. «Our focus at the Cathedral was on the incredible array of mosaics as well as its Byzantine and Romanesque architecture,» said Griffin. «Our focus at the Art Museum was on the wonderful collection of Greek and Roman art/artifacts as well as paintings and sculpture with classical themes.»
The students had a fantastic time. «Most of the students had never been to the Cathedral and were awed by its majesty,» said Griffin. «Our own Cathedral Basilica here in St. Louis is reminiscent of some of the finest churches in the world. Moreover, the Cathedral’s extensive mosaics are without equal in the Western Hemisphere. The tour guide pointed out the Latin inscriptions, and the students had fun trying to decipher them. Following our tour of the Cathedral, we went to Art Hill to enjoy an al fresco lunch on what turned out to be a beautiful spring day. Afterward, we commenced our tour of the Greek and Roman artifacts in the St. Louis Art Museum as well as several Renaissance paintings with Classical themes.»
For homework, students were asked to submit a description of their favorite piece of art or experience from the trip. Here are a few responses:
- «My favorite art piece from the trip was the giant mosaic in the basilica that depicted some humans being sent into heaven and some being sent to hell. This picture is my favorite because of the immense detail and the fact that it looks like a painting. This mosaic has amazing colors and is more muted than some of the other mosaics that have very reflective, shiny pieces. Overall, this is a magnificent piece of artwork and it is disappointing that you can’t see it from the back of the church.» –Mabel Dando’28
- «My favorite was the Perseus painting in the Art Museum. It was of Perseus saving Andromeda from the sea monster. The painting was painted on a slab of lapis. The painting was my favorite because lapis is so rare and hard to paint; great skill was required.» –Dane Joyce ’28
- «My favorite piece of art was the coins. I thought it was interesting to see a piece of our life that we often ignore, portrayed in a more important way by people who lived centuries before us.» –Wyatt Schuckman ’28
- «When we went to the Cathedral Basilica, on the ‘corners’ of the smaller dome, there were two angels, one on the right that followed the Old Testament, holding the staff of Moses with a blindfold, and one on the left that followed Christ and held the Cross of Salvation. For me, this field trip was really fun, and I feel like I learned a lot, especially about the culture.» –Anna Ko ’28
From tests to trips, way to embrace Latin, students!