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Our first full day was packed with events! We started with Latin day classes. In Circumlitio, we viewed images of Hercules, read poetry in meter, and learned about how Romans painted their statues. In Latina Loquenda, we were super incredibly scared (well, maybe only a little bit) by speaking in Latin to each other. And in Occidat dum Imperet, we got to know Agrippina the Younger a little bit and her complicated life story. After lunch, we signed up for roles in the play, Pseudolus, which we will perform on the second-to-last day of Academy. We also signed up to work on the Memoranda DVD and the Nuntia newspaper. We then competed in a scavenger hunt around campus - totally in Latin! This evening was full of festivities too. Mr. Cavedo, aka Cavellus, led us on an exploration of our theme - nec me mea fallit imago, "my image does not deceive me." We explored Commodus' depiction of himself as Hercules, the myth of Narcissus (who echoes Echo and whom Echo echoes), and finally thought about what makes a thing... a thing. We finished off with Latinae Minutiae, a fun-filled quiz game. Looking forward to tomorrow - first day of Greek day classes in the morning, play try-outs in the afternoon, and elections in the evening!
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After our opening ceremony, we all donned our purple "nec me mea fallit imago" t-shirts as we toured campus and got to know each other, after some fun competitions in our province groups. We're also beginning nominations for elections for our officers of Academy. We're getting excited for three weeks together!! Salvi/salvae sitis!
I hope you are getting super excited! It's almost time to pack your bags :) I just drove to Ashland today and went through the packing process myself. A few things to think pack that you might not have thought of: 1) A camera - one of my projects is to work with the Memoranda team and run the GLA Newspaper (which is the absolute coolest!). We need to take pictures for those projects all the time. If you have a nice camera, or even a small point-and-shoot - bring it! 2) SUNSCREEN and aloe vera (fun fact - I have red hair but I surprisingly don't burn. However, we all need to protect ourselves regardless) 4) A water bottle. As Magister Cavedo mentioned below, drinking water and staying hydrated is so crucial. 5) A rain jacket - it's like Jupiter got mad at Lycaon, and wants to recreate the giant flood around here recently. 6) An indoor jacket/sweater. While many days are in the 90's outside, the buildings are often in the 60's. I'm always freezing, so I drag a sweater with me everywhere. Everywhere. It's definitely a hassle, but I never regret it. 7) A camping pad or mattress pad. This is not necessary, and if you don't already own one, don't stress. However, the dorm beds can be less than comfy, and I like to use my camping pad to sleep better. Finally - to just follow up on Magister Cavedo's post below: If any of you are avid walkers/joggers/runners - in past years, students (and some faculty!) wake up around 6:15/30am to run/walk laps either around the "pomerium," a ~.9 mile loop around campus, or around the college track, which is located right next to your dorm building. Yes, I know it sounds crazy, but for many people getting some exercise - even a very short walk - can often go a long way towards keeping your body and soul both happy and healthy during these three weeks. The Greeks knew what was up! I'm generally "allergic" to mornings; however, I still usually get up and run most mornings, and I can tell it makes a HUGE difference. Side note 1: If you walk/run laps around the pomerium you'll need to be in a group of three. We'll chat about this more during the security talk. So make friends with other walk/jog/runners when you get there! Side note 2: If you run track, prepare yourself for a track that is ~.22 in length, it'll drive you a little nuts. Side note 3: If you're a runner, keep in mind that we need to keep shirts on at all times, including while running. So bring some lightweight shirts that you feel comfortable running in. Valete! I can't wait to meet you all! Magistra Ghosheh post scriptum: my last name is pronounced Go-shay. Don't be intimidated, it's super easy :) salvete!
As Magistra Carroll mentioned, our fabulous production of Pseudolus will include live music that accompanies the show, but there are many delightful opportunities at Academy for musicians to play music. If you are a musician please bring your instrument(s). We have a keyboard, so no need to bring a piano. On another note: by the end of the day Sunday you will have heard that Latin Academy is a life-changing experience at least one hundred times. Although by the end of these three weeks you will most likely be saying the same thing yourself, it is worth reflecting between now and Sunday on some of the reasons why these three weeks are so life-changing and how you might want to change your own life. Part of the transformation that takes place during Academy is simply spending three weeks around friendly, insightful, and curious people like yourselves in a highly intellectually and emotionally stimulating atmosphere. But three weeks is more or less the exact amount of type it takes to make or break a habit. Not all your habits need to be academic! During these three weeks you will want to be operating at peak efficiency, so healthy lifestyle habits are essential. I encourage you to consider some of the following ways to make sure you feel good all day every day at Academy (and beyond!):
I will be driving up from Georgia for Academy tomorrow and am so looking forward to meeting each of you on Sunday. Please enjoy the time you have between now and Sunday: eat your favorite foods, watch your shows, see all your friends, play with your pets. valete Magister Cavedo Salvete!
This summer, Magister Cavedo and I will be co-directing the Latin Academy play, which is Pseudolus by Plautus. This play features a clever slave who outsmarts his master to unite the master’s son with his lover. It will be amazing and fantastic! The play is a huge part of Latin Academy, and I encourage all of you to be involved in some way, whether you've ever tried theater before or not. (I mean, I had never done theater before, and here I am directing my seventh Plautus play!) Try out for a speaking part and maybe you'll play Simia, who pretends to be the soldier’s attendant as part of Pseudolus’ plan. Maybe a non-speaking part is more your style and you can be a silly cook, mocking the greedy pimp, Ballio. Maybe you're more musically inclined and you can bring your instrument to play to accompany the actors. Or maybe you're artistic and you can help out painting the set or designing the cover art for the program. There really is something for everyone! -Magistra Carroll OMG Academy starts next weekend! I hope you're ready for an awesome three weeks - I know I'm counting down the days until driving to Ashland!
By the end of our three weeks, we will have had many fun events, wacky adventures, and inside jokes. (BTW how about that future perfect there?) And we don't want our Academy to suffer the same fate as books 46-142 of Livy's Histories, so we have to make sure we preserve all the memories we can! Introducing.... the Memoranda DVD! Throughout Academy, we'll be taking pictures and videos of everything that happens - from classes to meals to dorms to field trips - and organizing them into a slideshow. We will add some captions and write some narration in Latin, ... and throw in some memes, perhaps? We will also record the final performance of the play. All of this will be collected onto a DVD for everyone to watch when we return home. After all - Academia memoranda est. Academy must be remembered! Do you have a camera with an SD card? Bring it with you and help record our experiences! Don't have a camera, but love taking pictures? We've got some cameras you can use! Do you like using iMovie or WeVid, or writing in Latin? Join the Memoranda team! -- Magister Jefferson As Latin academy rapidly approaches I wanted to discuss a topic that is often a struggle for Academy students, laundry. First, please bring what you need to clean your clothes! The handy checklist on the sidebar lists the needs as “laundry bag, detergent, fabric softener, quarters”. For detergent for some of you who are less familiar with doing your own laundry I recommend bring tide pods or equivalents to make doing laundry easier. They also can be much easier to pack. Fabric softener and dryer sheets, while not strictly necessary, can help make laundry a lot more pleasant. The washing machines and dryers in the building you will be staying in require payment for use so make sure to bring enough quarters for several loads (I believe it is 2 dollars for each load).
Second, plan to wash clothes at academy. This may sound obvious but in previous years we have had students try to pack enough clothing that they would not have to do any laundry. Please do not do this! You will be moving around enough that many of your active wear clothes will get sweaty and need to be washed. Additionally, you will need to wash your academy t-shirts with some regularity. On the flip side of this make sure to pack enough clothing that you don’t have to wash clothes every day. We will be sharing the laundry room with the Japanese academy so you will not have access to the laundry room all the time. Make sure to pack enough clothing to make it through a week or so of academy without having to do laundry. Finally, some of you may not have washed your own clothes before. I suggest that you do a trial run at home before coming to academy to make sure you are comfortable with the process. We will have limited time to do laundry most days so you need to have your clothes gathered when you plan to wash them, and be aware of when you need to move them to the dryer. The other RAs and I will be there to help out if someone needs it but life will be easier if you come prepared. I can’t wait to meet all of you in just over a week! Valete, Rob Williams Discipuli, As you know, no phones at academy which makes it difficult to stay in contact with home, but NOLI TIMERE!! This is a quick reminder about how to write letters and address envelopes (Yes, this has previously been an issue). First, another packing list for letters: • Stationary • Envelopes • Stamps • Pen/Pencil • Address Book* *This last one is important! In case your friends and family aren’t the letter-writing types, write one to them first. This will prompt a response from them, but you can only write them a letter if you have their addresses. After writing and addressing your letters, you can give them to any of your RAs or elected Quaestors. We will deliver them directly to post office after breakfast each morning. Mail usually takes about 3-5 days to be delivered; packages vary a bit more. When I came to academy as a student, I didn’t realize how much a note from home would mean to me, so be sure not only to give out your academy address to all your family and friends, but also to write letters too. It is a great way to help alleviate any homesickness you may feel too. Below I have attached an outline of a filled-out envelope including your academy address in the top left. As always, you will have the RAs and staff to ask any additional questions you have. Get excited! We are a week and a half from meeting you! Valete, Sallie 
*choo choo*
Salvete!
I'm Magistra Ghosheh! I'm a Latin teacher in Fairfax County, an animal lover, a runner, a hiker, a (very amateur) photographer, and an overall outdoorsy person. I also really love puns and coffee. Brace yourselves. I'm also a Latinist, and Ovid's Amores will forever be my first love (pun intended!!). So obviously, it's natural that I'm also a Greek art teacher, right? Okay - the connections may not be clear now, but there is actually a lot to talk about when it comes to considering Hellenistic art and reading Latin poetry. And while Horace might have said that his Odes were a monument more lasting than bronze (monumentum aere perennius), marble is pretty strong too ;) In this class, we’ll be examining the art and architecture produced during the life of Alexander the Great and throughout the Kingdoms that succeeded him. Our main time period will be 323 B.C.E. (Alexander’s death) to 31 B.C.E. (Cleopatra’s death), and we will be looking at everything that once was part of Alexander’s INCREDIBLE empire. That means the regions of modern Greece, Egypt, Jordan, Israel, Lebanon, Syria, Iran, Iraq, Turkey, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Tajikistan. Ridiculous! This class is also a history and politics class cloaked in bronze. Consequently, we will be examining the transition from Classical (507-323 B.C.E.) to Hellenistic period and we will see how the art and architecture reflects the political and social changes of the time. We’ll consider the ways in which Alexander brought his home of Macedonia to regions like modern Egypt and Afghanistan. And of course we’ll see how all of these artistic and political elements culminate in my favorite city of all time - ROME! Believe it or not, even staunch Roman Republicans like Pompey acted a whole lot more like a Hellenistic King than you ever thought! We will be looking at some amazing pieces of art such as the Laocoön statue, the Great Altar of Zeus from Pergamon, and the Dying Gaul. You will see how so much of this period is marked by excessive emotion, passion, agony, wit, and fun. No statue shows calmness, no statue lacks a story. There is motion, there is play, and there is most certainly wild hair. You will learn about the various subcategories of Hellenistic art and tell the difference between the Baroque and Rococo styles. However, most importantly (in my opinion), you’ll have a great time learning about this underrated and understudied period of time. There is simply so much out there, and I cannot wait to explore it with you all! No pre-reading required, but come fully armed with curiosity, creativity, and an open mind (Macedonian helmet is optional). - Magistra Ghosheh |
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