The Latin club competed at Latin Regionals at Holy Trinity on Jan. 27, participating in various competitions, tests and exhibits.

“The students had a lot of fun, and they did really well,” Latin teacher Jennifer Staton said.

Students had to pay a registration fee to be able to participate.

“The fee this year was $12, and it covers all the materials needed for the tests and competitions, and it covers lunch,” Staton said.

Students met with their individual groups at the event in the morning, wearing their club t-shirts, which show which school they are representing.

“Usually, each school has their own t-shirts,” Staton said. “Ours this year was the sea-cows. We don’t have any groups, so students can mingle with kids from different schools.” 

Once all the groups were organized, the event began. Students who chose to take the tests instead of the project met at the school’s gym to take the two categories of tests they signed up for.

“Kids line up and they take whichever tests they are taking, whether it is classical arts, geography, history, grammar, vocab, [etc.], and they go sit down and take the test and turn it in to us,” Staton said.

Along with the tests, students also participated in Certamen, a competition amongst groups of kids to see who can answer questions the quickest.

“A question is given, and then someone on a team of four can buzz in to possibly get ten points,” Daniel Mirell, freshman and Vice President of Latin club, said. “If they get that correct, they get two five-point bonus questions, which the team can confer on.”

Mirell said that despite the results, the students had a good time.

“We got third out of four teams, which is better than last,” Mirell said. “We did worse than Edgewood unfortunately.”

Near the end of the event, every group gathers to hear the announcement of the winning test scores and awards the students won.

“The tests are compared between each student,” Staton said. “We got a lot of first and second place, and we took home a lot of awards. In our advanced theme, we took first through fourth place in Mythology, which is actually a hard thing to do because Mythology is a really popular subject.”

Students were able to socialize as they competed and explored the event.

“I’d have to say the companionship was the best part,” Staton said. “This is one of the few chances in the school year that we can get most of the West Shore Latin students in one room, so it’s really nice to see so many new faces.”

By Kris Rosa