Latin Update: May 2026
Grades 6 and 8 (Maripat)
One of the things I enjoy most about conferences is watching families’ expressions when their student discusses their strengths and challenges in Latin. Most families have no idea what we’re talking about, but I love hearing students rattle off terms like “ablative of time when” and other terms characteristic of Latin grammar. The eighth graders have recently learned to identify and use personal, relative, demonstrative, and reflexive pronouns with all their myriad forms. It’s kind of like decorating a float—for a while Latin is all platforms, foundations, and basic motor functions. Latin’s many pronouns are like the next, more decorative layer. Latin has no words for “a” or “the”, but there are lots of other ways to clarify meaning. One student remarked, “Finally! I have clues beyond case endings to identify who’s doing what and who they’re talking about!. But why does there have to be another chart to memorize?!”
The sixth grade has recently added the ablative to its list of known noun cases. One student said he just didn’t have room in his brain or his notebook for one more case, and I empathize with the condition of Brain Overload. When in doubt, organize: add another, more complete chart to your notes. Latin has no gender neutral pronouns and there’s no way to make a plural word—like “they”— refer to an individual (because there are singular or plural subject endings that have to agree with the person and number of the verb). My favorite comment on this topic is a student’s response to the prompt, “Tell me something you’ve learned about Latin that strikes you as weird or strange”: ‘If someone in Rome had a pet rock that they referred to as a friend, they would have to give (the pet rock) a gender.”
Grade 7 (Cilla)
The 79th Cascadia JCL convention, held on our Explorer West campus Saturday May 16, is fast approaching! Sixteen EW students are attending this year. I sent these students an email with a list of the academic, athletic, and artistic contests so they can choose and prepare for events they want to try. (At past conventions, EW students were most enthusiastic about the gladiatorial games, the costume contest, and the mythology exam.)
Among my favorite events are the colloquia, held throughout the day. The presenters this year will be discussing Madeline Miller’s YA novels along with myths in Ovid; Roman food with samples; and Astronomy and Greek myth. There will also be a “Ask a Classicist” panel, hosted by undergraduate and graduate Classics majors who will discuss their experiences studying Greek and Latin in college and will field student questions. I hope students who missed the chance to attend this year will attend next year.
Latin 7 is currently reading stories from Chapter 11 of Suburani, learning about travel by sea and the dangers of pirates and storms. They now are using the genitive case, which is their 5th noun case. The end of chapter reading exam is set for May 20, which gives us a week for some review, fun readings and culture lessons and vocabulary games.
May is also the month when 8th graders take the Alira Reading Comprehension exam. A strong vocabulary knowledge is key for reading passages at sight. I encourage students who want to improve their vocabulary skills to make use of the vocabulary lists and resources on the NLVE website and the Vocabulary Trainer app linked in the Suburani online textbook. Students and parents wondering about the Alira test, or the study of Latin in general, can view this link to a slideshow comparing ACTFL levels across language study and providing more information about what to expect on an Alira Reading exam.