On Friday and Saturday, March 9-10, twenty-nine members of the Crown Point Latin Club joined students from fifteen other schools at the 65th Annual Indiana Junior Classical League State Convention at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana. In addition to fun activities such as a “That’s Entertainment” talent show and a pizza party, the convention included a variety of competitions at the individual, team, and club levels.
Individually, our students performed extremely well in these events, receiving 28 individual first-place awards and bringing home 149 awards for top five placings! Additionally, one of our students received an Individual Achievement Trophy in Academic Testing (Lukas Denney), one received an Individual Achievement Trophy in Creative Arts (Emma Maddack), and two received Individual Achievement Trophies in Creative Arts (Maddie Johnson and Jasmin Romero). There are only five trophies available in each of those categories! In addition, Kathy Sizemore, CPHS parent chaperone, was also awarded the IJCL Distinguished Service Award for her dedication and service to the Junior Classical League on the local, state, and national level.
In the much-anticipated Certamen competition (a Jeopardy-style quiz game), the Novice and Intermediate teams both advanced to the final rounds of their respective levels. In the final competition, the intermediate team (2nd year students) placed second while the novice team (1st year students) returned home with the first place trophy. By virtue of their state championship, members of the novice team have earned automatic spots on the state team competing at the NJCL National Convention this summer; novice team members included Joey Bell, Bailey Brumbaugh, Aidan Gregg, and Miles Vickers.
We had one Crown Point student elected as a state officer at this year’s convention! Kayla Apking (junior) was re-elected as the 2018-2019 IJCL 2nd Vice-President. She will be responsible for the state delegation’s participation in the spirit competitions and the state fundraiser at the NJCL National Convention this summer. In addition she will plan Indiana Latin Week next year and run the spirit competitions at the 2019 IJCL State Convention. She will soon be completing her 2017-2018 term of office as will Maddie Johnson who has served as the 2017-2018 IJCL Editor.
Four CPHS students performed in the “That’s Entertainment” talent show. Kayla Apking and Maddie Johnson joined with the other IJCL officers to perform a skit about friendship that went along with the convention theme. Joey Bell performed Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata” on piano; Anne Gregg played her ukulele while singing an original song.
At the club level, Crown Point once again performed extremely well. In addition to winning the overall sweepstakes trophy for large chapters, we earned the travelling plaque for placing 1st in the Helen Wampler Spirit Award (entry compiled by Dugan Dailey, Consul) and earned the travelling megaphone by placing 1st in Delegate Spirit (led by Hannah Walley and Maddie Edwards). We also placed 2nd in the publicity contest (entry compiled by Emma Maddack, Praetor), 2nd with our local chapter publication, Tempus Canis (edited by Morgan Cooper), 2nd in Scrapbooks (created by Ava Dailey), and 2nd for the Sharon Gibson Community Service Award, which is based on one of our many service activities that we do throughout the year (entry compiled by Emma Maddack, Praetor).
As a result of our high placings in these individual, team, and club events, the Crown Point Latin Club was once again named overall state champion and awarded the sweepstakes trophy. We are extremely proud of all of our students for their dedication and enthusiasm for the study of Latin, and look forward to their competing at next year’s convention!
The next level of competition for these young people will be the National Junior Classical League Convention from July 23-28 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. For more information on this event, see www.njcl.org.