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Papae! The Wow Factor in Latin class

Salvēte, sōdālēs Hopkinensēs!   Greetings and good health, Hopkins friends!

Every spring, the 8th grade Latin students embark upon a project-based learning experience, culminating in a project fair that is called the Spectaculum Romanum.  At this fair, students demonstrate their creative projects and teach spectators what they have learned about their topic. The 7th graders attend the fair and find inspiration for their project ideas for the next year.

This year, as in previous years, 8th graders chose to research a topic from the Roman world that interested them. We started the process as usual before March break. Ms. Horsley’s classes took a trip to the Calarco Library to explore the wealth of resources in the library, and to learn more from Mr. Gette about using on-line resources for research, notetaking, and maintaining a quality bibliography. 

After break, with the closure of campus and the shift to virtual school, students conducted their research by using databases curated on the valuable libguide created by Hopkins’s librarians. Finishing their research, students created slide-shows that they presented to their classmates over Zoom. 

However, due to social distancing guidelines, some students discovered they had to alter their plans for the creative product, since they did not have necessary materials in their homes. To account for these restrictions, students were encouraged to think outside the box, to use recycled materials, to reconsider how to display what they had learned in their research. We think of this as the “Wow! factor” (in Latin: Papae!) -- how our students adapted their expectations and found new, creative forms for their projects. 

We hope you will visit the virtual “Spectaculum Romanum” and say “Papae!” yourselves when you see their efforts. Our 8th graders rose to the occasion, making short videos to share their discoveries and creations with the rest of the Hopkins community. 

Great appreciation to the librarians, the technology staff, Jemma Williams and John Galayda, and our colleagues and students’ parents for their help and guidance as we moved this project to the virtual realm this spring.

Valēte!   The Classics Department

Below are a few highlighted projects. Please click here to see the full Spectaculum Romanum Showcase

Ben's Roman Yelp website
 






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Hopkins is a private middle school and high school for grades 7-12. Located on a campus overlooking New Haven, CT, the School takes pride in its intellectually curious students as well as its dedicated faculty and staff.