This June, 23 Homestead students made the trek to Indiana University for the Junior Classical League Latin Nationals. The Wisconsin team was made up of 76 students, with others members coming from Madison West, Brookfield East, Brookfield Academy, Marquette High School and Catholic Memorial High School. Wisconsin was one of the 40 states at the national convention.

The convention provided many different activities to participate in throughout the six days, ranging from 12 academic tests, to spirit days with themes to compete in. There were Mythological costume contests, an oratory competition and a graphic arts contest which included watercolor art, pen art, charcoal art, games, dolls and map replicas from ancient times.

Sarah Sullivan, junior, has attended two state Latin conventions and now two national conventions. “My favorite part of nationals is meeting new friends, from both Wisconsin schools, and students from other states,” Sullivan said. 

Besides the artistic activities, there were many  Olympic games that the students participated in. Options included swimming, basketball, volleyball, ultimate frisbee and soccer.

“Wisconsin gave a very strong showing, as always, in sports and placed in the top three places in sports throughout the games,” Magistra Wallach, Latin teacher, said. 

Emily Mayer, senior, faced her first national convention this year after participating in three state conventions thus far.

“My favorite part about nationals was the down times between activities and being able to bond with the other schools from Wisconsin. I also really enjoyed Ludi, which means games in Latin, which are the sports tournaments and Olympic games that the different states compete in,” Mayer said. 

The competition that Homestead proved most successful in was Certamen, the quiz bowl competition that Magistra Wallach describes as “the capstone competition of the week.” Wisconsin’s Latin I team and Advanced Team went into the semi-final rounds. The Latin I team, which included three Homestead players: Shir Bloch, Jackie Wang and Eric Sutton, took seventh place in the nation after pushing through four tough rounds.

The Wisconsin Advanced team was made up of three Brookfield Academy students, a Marquette student and Janet Wang, Homestead alumni, as the alternate. This team fought their way to the finals along with a Florida team and a Virginia team. In a packed auditorium filled with many cheering fans, it came down to the nineteenth out of 20 questions, where Wisconsin stole the win. It is the first time since 1996 that Wisconsin had won the Advanced Certamen award.

“It was a great Nationals competition overall for our students. It brought together many schools throughout our state and allowed even more of our students to create further friendships nationally by networking throughout the week on the Indiana campus. Already, the Homestead Latin students are talking about next summer and traveling to the Nationals convention in Alabama,” Magistra Wallach said. 

Gallery • 6 Photos

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The Homestead students attending nationals get together for a photo. The Wisconsin team is always represented by cows and many cheeseheads. “It was a great Nationals competition overall for our students. It brought together many schools throughout our state and allowed even more of our students to create further friendships nationally by networking throughout the week on the Indiana campus,” Magistra Wallach said.