On Friday, March 6, Mountain Brook’s Latin scholars, along with their teachers Drew Lasater of MBHS and Micheal Posey of MBJH, attended the 72nd annual Alabama Junior Classical League Convention at Camp McDowell in Nauvoo, AL. The theme of the convention was “Parvae rēs concordiā crescunt” - Small things grow with harmony. (Sallust, Bellum Iugurthum 10.6). They joined 250 students from 15 schools across the state in a celebration of all things Latin and Classical Studies. There were academic, athletic, and artistic competitions, songs, games, costumes, and a whole lot of fun. Mountain Brook performed exceptionally well across all categories of competition, earning awards in all three competitive categories of academics, arts, and athletics. 

Of all the things that happened during the Latin convention, one moment illustrates what an outstanding group of students came on this trip. A teacher pulled Mr. Lasater aside after the Athletic Olympiad and made a point to commend Mountain Brook’s students for their good citizenship and sportsmanship. More than any award or prize, this moment made Mr. Lasater and Mr. Posey both incredibly proud of the students and how they conducted themselves.

In the Athletic Olympiad, Joseph Menendez (MBJH) and Hattie Crawford (MBHS) got 3rd place in the wheelbarrow race, Menendez and Bradley Bales (MBHS) won 2nd place in the blindfolded beanbag toss, and the dynamic duo of Sam Settle and James Puckett (MBHS) took home the gold in the three-legged race. Our tug-of-war team of William Tabb, Hill McCluney, Bradley Bales, D.Y. Menendez from the high school, along with Drew Franco, Vincent Schilleci, and William Cannon from the junior high steamrolled all who dared to stand against them with decisive and dramatic wins over Homewood and ASFA to take the trophy.

In the Artistic Olympiad, Mountain Brook was represented by students from the junior high. They entered many works of art in a variety of categories. Most of their work centered on mythological and historical themes. There were paintings, drawings, sculptures, pottery, 3-D art, and creative writing. Here are the awards our artists won:

2D ART

BLACK PENCIL OR CHARCOAL
1st place - Grayson Chapman

COLORED INK OR PENCIL
1st place - Ilona Somers, 2nd place - Helen Owens

ACYLIC OR OIL
2nd place - Ella Lisenby, 3rd place - Elizabeth Marshall

CREATIVE WRITING

2nd place - Mary Martha Athanas

3-D ART

POTTERY
2nd place - Aurora Somers

3-D MODELS
1st place - Trip Davis; 2nd place - Grayson deOnis

DECORATIVE STITCHING, HANDMADE JEWELRY, HANDMADE DOLLS
1st place - Mary Martha Athanas, 2nd place - Mary Matthews Cole, 3rd place - Mary Martha Athanas

In the Academic Olympiad, Mountain Brook put on display what amazing intellectual talent we have in our schools. All 250 students at the convention took the Thematic Exam, which was about the convention’s theme of “Parvae res concordia crescunt” (small things grow with harmony). After that, students had 45 minutes to take tests in as many other categories as they could. Our students excelled, placing in every single academic category! We won eight first place awards out of a possible 24, meaning that Mountain Brook students took home fully a third of the first place medals for the whole state. Here is a summary of everything we won in the academic competitions:

Thematic Test
Level ½: William Cannon - 1st place, Sam Pinner - 3rd place 
Advanced: D.Y. Menendez - 2nd place, James Puckett - 3rd place

Latin Vocabulary
Level ½: Aurora Somers - 3rd place
Advanced: Eleanor Couch - 1st place, William Tabb - 3rd place

Latin Grammar
Level ½: John Newman - 1st place 
Advanced: William Tabb - 1st place

Greek and Roman History
Level ½: William Canon - 1st place, Joseph Menendez - 3rd place 
Level 2: Vincent Schilleci - 1st place
Advanced: D.Y. Menendez - 1st place, James Puckett - 2nd place, Wyatt Pearce - 3rd place 
>> This was a CLEAN SWEEP of the Advanced History test for the Spartans!

Greek and Roman Mythology
Advanced: James Puckett and Eleanor Couch - tie for 2nd place, D.Y. Menendez - 3rd place.

Pentathlon (a test with all five of the other categories combined)
Level ½: Sam Pinner - 2nd place 
Level 2: Owen Ward - 2nd place 
Advanced: D.Y. Menendez - 1st place, Wyatt Pearce - 3rd place.