Fama Fall 2019

Vol III Issue 1

FAMA Flint Hill Classics Club

Be-leaf in the Classics

Fall 2019

Table of Contents 4 6 8 10 11 12 13 14 15

Meet the Board Q&A with Woojin Kim Mythological Musicals NJCL Recap What Vase are You? Classical Costumes Fall Highlights Mad Libs Memes Latinae

President: Avishka Boppudi ’20 amboppudi@flinthill.org 1st VP: Brian Scherer ’20 bscherer@flinthill.org 2nd VP: Necati Unsal ’22 nunsal@flinthill.org Parliamentarian: Natalie Naylor ’21 nnaylor@flinthill.org CoCo: Seth Nelson ’21 snelson@flinthill.org Historian: Emma Conkle ’21 econkle@flinthill.org

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Editor: Julianne Cuevo ’20 jcuevo@flinthill.org

The Bubbly Soul Award is given to the person (or people) who the Classics Department and Executive Board feel most dedicated themselves to Classics Club in the past quarter. For winning the Toga Mini-Golf prize and wowing everyone with the Latin Prepositions song, this quarter’s award goes to Elan Jones ’25. We’re excited to give you your prize of…bragging rights? You surpassed the high schoolers in mini-golf skillz (and probably Latin skillz, to be honest). We hope to see you at Classics Club meetings in two years!

Photo: Emma Conkle; Cover Photo: Sherry Doerfler

Executive Board Bubbly Soul

Editor’s Note

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all has arrived! It’s time for picking pumpkins, raking leaves, and wearing sweaters. But the best fall activity by far is reading the first FAMA issue of the new school year! Readers, when you ask, I deliver.

This issue is jam-packed with content for you to enjoy.

Flint Hill Classics Club has been busy since last spring. This summer, we went all the way to North Dakota State University for NJCL Convention, and we’ve run several successful outreach activities, such as Toga Mini-Golf and our Homecoming Booth.

The start of the 2019-2020 school year also brought exciting changes; alumnus Woojin Kim returned to Flint Hill as our new Classics Department Chair. Learn all about our fearless leader in his interview (or Woojinterview, if you will).

There’s plenty more to have fun with in this issue! Learn about mythological musicals, and find a classical Halloween costume so you can trick-or-treat yourself. Finally, have some laughs with Convention-themed Mad Libs and Latin memes.

By now, the first quarter is over, and you’ve become accustomed to your new friends, teachers, and classes. But that doesn’t mean that we’re all frolicking in the apple orchards, living stress-free lives. When everything happens way too much, let this be your emotional support FAMA. It’s here for you :))

Top: Alumnus Sebastian Aguilar ’19 stops by Mrs. Doerfler’s Greek class. (Photo: Emma Conkle) Above left: Volunteers work at the Classics Club Homecoming booth. (Photo: Woojin Kim) Left: Juniors Madison Fox, Abby Ward, and Seth Nelson enjoy Toga Mini-Golf. (Photo: Julianne Cuevo)

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Meet the Board President: Avishka Boppudi ’20 Years of Latin/Greek: 6 What are your duties?

I make the agenda for our bi-monthly Classics Club meetings. I work with the other officers in order to celebrate the classics, and I represent the school for all classics related events.

1st Vice President Brian Scherer ’20 Years of Latin/Greek: 5 What are your duties?

I submit the activities of the Classics club to state and national competitions, competing for awards for publicity and club of the month.

Time travel to a point in Roman history: I would have wanted to see Spartacus and the slave uprising because there’s nothing I love more than sticking it to the man.

Fun Fact?

I kind of play piano.

Time travel to a point in Roman history: I would want to travel back to the point at which they built their largest aqueduct, to see how the engineers think and work.

2nd Vice President Necati Unsal ’22 Years of Latin/Greek: 5 What are your duties?

Heading service and spirit.

Fun Fact?

Despite selling Varsity Latin shirts, I do not own one.

Time travel to a point in Roman history: Probably 64 C.E. when parts of Rome were burning.

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Fun fact?

I’m a proud mother of my hamster, Mushu.

OFFICERS AT A GLANCE In total, the 2019-2020 Board has: -attended 21 state conventions!

-attended 18 national conventions!

-taken 40 years of Latin/ Greek!

Parliamentarian Natalie Naylor ’21

Years of Latin/Greek: 6

What are your duties?

Overseeing meetings, upholding and editing our chapter’s constitution, and leading Flint Hill in the voting process.

Fun Fact?

I’m aggressively Italian.

Time travel to a point in Roman history: When Caesar was writing De Bello Gallico so I could stop him in his tracks.

Communications Coordinator Seth Nelson ’21 Fun Fact?

Years of Latin/Greek: 6

I have a cat named kitty.

What are your duties?

Communicating what’s going on in the classics club to everybody.

Time travel to a point in Roman history: Cicero’s death. I would like to be in his specific location at that time.

Historian Emma Conkle ’21 Years of Latin/Greek: 5 What are your duties?

Taking pictures, making the scrapbook, and otherwise documenting the Classics Club

Editor Julianne Cuevo ’20 Years of Latin/Greek: 7 What are your duties?

Take a wild guess. (Creating the publication and submitting updates to NJCL and VJCL).

Fun Fact?

My favorite pattern is plaid.

Time travel to a point in Roman history: I would travel to Classical Greek times, actually. (Take Greek, everyone!)

Fun Fact?

My style icon is Frog from Frog and Toad.

Time travel to a point in Roman history: The Year of Six Emperors (238 CE) so I could make it seven.

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Photo: Freed SPIRIT Photography

Q&A with Woojin Kim to eleventh grade. So I saw everyone. And in the summer I’ve taught at the Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth; I was a teaching assistant for Latin one summer, and I taught English in China for a couple summers. And even as a Flint Hill student in high school, I walked down or drove down to the middle school to work with them in Latin and certamen.

And then I guess I have a master’s degree in education?

I guess that kind of counts for something.

NN: What is your prior experience at Flint Hill?

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his year, Flint Hill has a new Classics Department Chair: Woojin Kim! A Flint Hill alumnus, he has now returned to his old stomping grounds to guide a new generation of classics students.

Mr. Kim graciously agreed to meet with Natalie Naylor ’21 for a Q&A session about his background and plans for this year.

Natalie: What’s your prior experience in education?

Mr. Kim: So officially, I’ve taught at a school in Houston, Texas. I taught mostly eighth grade with a smattering of sixth, seventh, and all the way to eleventh, because in that school that I taught at, Latin was required from sixth grade

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fun when I was a student, but there are more “fun” types of things happening, like the cake baking competition is one which we didn’t have. It seems like the officers are taking more ownership of things.

When Mr. Chang was the chair and the club sponsor, he made sure we did a lot of things. He shepherded us along, as the Lord Chang that he is.

NN: Why do you love the classics?

WK: Why do I love the classics? At first, I didn’t, for multiple different reasons.

But ultimately classics means relationships. So JCL is a big one, going to nationals, state convention, meeting lots of cool people from around the nation or around the state.

WK: Actually, my first experience here was as a student at Fairfax High School.

I came to Flint Hill Certamen, and I remember that was a hard certamen because the questions were really challenging. But it motivated me to try harder and then eventually win TJ [Certamen], which was the next one, which was great! I was a student here Some of my good friends live my junior and senior years. in different places, [and I know them] because of nationals.

NN: How has the Flint Hill And classics in general is a Classics Club changed since discipline that… I don’t know, you were a student? there’s a weird feeling that you don’t get in other disciplines WK: I think we used to have when you realize, “Oh, this like, a different structure. It was word comes from this type of like the Cursus Honorum, [with word,” and it’s very exciting and a] consul, praetor, quaestor. very interesting. Like today, I Structurally it was different. was teaching a Latin I class and And I think there are more—I I told them, “Hey, ‘magister,’ don’t want to say it wasn’t the word for teacher, gives us

“Classics means relationships.”

the word ‘maestro.’” And then students who have connections in Italian or Spanish are like, “Oh, that also means ‘teacher’ in Spanish!” And I was like, “Woah, that’s so cool!” And it’s a really exciting thing to see word origins and word crossovers come together. So I like that. And also, who doesn’t like to think about the former glory of Rome? As bloody and terrible as it was, as we’re learning in AP this year. But really, it’s the relationships, I think.

NN: What are you excited for this year?

WK: I am excited because, honestly, I think I was very fortunate to have very good students…I never got to see the fruit of the Flint Hill Classics program go from sixth grade all the way up to now.

And some of your classmates, they started in freshman year, or whatever. But at the end of the day, because of the friends they’ve made, because of the work they’ve put in, they’re just great students, and they’re great people. So I get to see kind of both spectrums, cause I start with Latin I students and the certamen and middle school students; hopefully [I’ll] help them embark on the same type of journey that these current AP students I’m teaching now have, and because they’ve been taking Latin together for so many years, they’re just having lots of fun, they have a lot of inside jokes [laughs] I know AP is hard, but just the amount of work and effort and diligence

that comes from previous years of Latin, I think, will pay off. It’s just exciting to see y’all students doing this work.

thought about a lot and would love to implement is really thinking about the classics from an equity lens, and what it means to be a discipline NN: What are your plans in a department that’s more as head of the Classics inclusive, more diverse, and department, if you can more equitable. How we teach, disclose them? what we teach, who we teach, and who teaches.

WK: My plans, [laughs] they are confidential! I met with NN: What’s your favorite the person who was the chair spirit cheer? before Ms. Hattemer and Mr. Chang. Her name was Ms. WK: I really, I mean, this is Laurie Covington, and she’s probably boring, but I really like a revered figure for people like the VA Beat. Just because who’ve been here for a while, when I first saw it, and when I and in the classics world. And first learned how to do it, it was she told me the history of Flint like the coolest thing ever.

Hill Classics: how she was able to advocate and essentially NN: If you could hold one have sixth grade Latin be officer’s position, because required, and just the fact that I know the structure has [the 1990s were] a time that changed in the current JCL, the classics, certamen, program, which would it be? [and] Latin was the one thing that gave Flint Hill national WK: Could I kick that person recognition. It’s like the one out? thing that FH could like really brag about, being a national NN: Yeah, absolutely!

“Latin gave Flint Hill national recognition.” champion, for multiple years.

And I would love to see that type of legacy continue, and to evolve, to fit the mold while still holding to tradition. So innovating while also looking toward the past, as classicists do… “Seeking the best, the highest our goal.” And I think one other thing that I’ve

WK: [laughs] Just kidding!

I think some of the classics teachers and other classmates know, but in my senior year, spirit was a big thing, and I really wanted Flint Hill to win spirit. So I got up on a chair in the middle of the Richmond Convention Center and started yelling. I don’t know if we won or not, I forget. But it’s just a good memory. So I think 2nd Vice President, because spirit is fun.

Interview by Natalie Naylor 7

Mythological Musicals

Photo: amny.com

performed in 2014 as a onehour musical, The Lightning

“This show gives classics nerds what we didn’t know we needed.”

Thief was updated in 2017 with a new score and script.

After two national tours and an Off-Broadway run, the show finally got to Broadway just last month. Critics call the show “electrifying” (Newsday) and “worthy of the gods” (Time Out New York). Listen to the 2017 cast recording, or see the Broadway production before it closes this January.

Photo: EW.com

The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical Okay, you’ve probably heard of Percy Jackson. But did you know the first book of Rick Riordan’s bestselling series that first introduced most of us to Greek mythology now has a musical adaptation?

This show gives classics nerds what we didn’t know we needed: the search for Zeus’s stolen lightning bolt, complete with song and dance. First 8

The Golden Apple The Golden Apple places the events from Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey at the turn of the twentieth century.

Ulysses returns from the Spanish-American War to his hometown of Angel’s Roost, Washington. But when townswoman Helen

runs away with traveling salesman Paris, Ulysses must leave his wife, Penelope, and embark on a ten-year quest to find and retrieve Helen for her husband, town sheriff Menelaus.

This sung-through musical was first performed in 1954.

Despite its being hailed as “the most imaginative work of its kind” (New York Daily Mirror) and acquiring a cult following, the Broadway production only ran for 125 performances. For decades, the only recording of The Golden Apple contained just 48 minutes of the 135-minute score, which was all that could fit on one record in 1954. Luckily, the show was revived in Dallas in 2014, allowing for the production and release of a full-length recording. Three years later, it was part of the New York City Center’s “Encores!” series, which presents seldom-heard musicals.

Photo: theaterscene.net

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f you’ve been paying attention (and you should be!) to American musical theatre, you already know what Hadestown is. Anais Mitchell’s musical epic retells the story of Orpheus, who almost succeeds in retrieving his dead wife from the Underworld. The show has taken Broadway by storm this past season, winning eight Tony Awards , including Best Musical. But it’s far from the only musical inspired by Greek and Roman mythology! Here are some that you should know.

Out of this World After the success of Kiss Me, Kate, one of the first musicals to connect and integrate its

The Odyssey in Song If you’ve been to NJCL Convention, you’ve probably seen Joe Goodkin’s The Odyssey in Song advertised in the program. This is less a traditional musical, and rather a modern form of barding.

Armed with musical expertise and a classics degree, Goodkin

crafted a 24-song adaptation of Homer’s Odyssey.

His music contains elements of contemporary folk and breathes new life into Homer’s epic. Since 2003, Goodkin has performed his Odyssey in Song for audiences throughout the U.S. and Canada. His lyrics and composition capture the emotion of the epic and make

with him. Naturally, hilarity ensues.

The show was written in 1943 and premiered on Broadway that same year, spawning a 1948 film version and several revivals throughout the world.

A complete recording of the score was produced over the course of thirteen years and released in 2014. Plus, this is not the only musical with ties to Pygmalion. George Bernard Shaw wrote a play based on the myth, and the musical theatre duo Lerner and Lowe turned that into their famous musical My Fair Lady. Check out all the it more accessible to young shows to see which is the best audiences. Stream the Odyssey retelling. in Song album online, or see Goodkin perform it live at NJCL Article by Julianne Cuevo Convention.

“Music breathes new life into Homer’s epic.”

Photo: classicmoviefavorites.com

Photo: idsnews.com

script, music, and lyrics, famed songwriter Cole Porter set out to write a musical based on Plautus’s tragicomedy Amphitryon.

The show follows Mercury and Jupiter, who are bored on Olympus and looking for entertainment on Earth. Jupiter sends Mercury down to Earth to come between newlyweds Helen (of Chicago, not Troy) and Art. Meanwhile, jealous Juno is up to her own tricks as she traps Niki, a bumbling gangster running from the law, in her schemes.

The production suffered from internal strife, and critics mostly panned it. However, audience responses were much more positive. 45 years after its 1950 Broadway run, Out of this World was revived in the “Encores!” series. Both the original Broadway cast album and the 1995 recording are available for purchase or streaming.

One Touch of Venus One Touch of Venus is based on the myth of Pygmalion, the sculptor who fell in love with his own statue. This musical follows Rodney, a simple barber whose life is changed when he visits a priceless statue of Venus and places the engagement ring meant for his girlfriend on the statue’s finger.

To Rodney’s surprise, Venus comes to life, immediately falling head over heels in love 9

NJCL Convention Recap

Flint Hill students pose with fellow VJCL delegates after General Assembly.

(Photo: Sherry Doerfler)

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his past July, the Flint Hill Classics program took its students to Fargo, North Dakota to represent our school on a national level at the 66th annual National Junior Classical League (NJCL) Convention at North Dakota State University. All of us lived on a college campus for a week: staying in a dorm, eating in the dining hall, and becoming acquainted with a campus as a whole. We traveled 1350 miles by plane and bus to take tests at seven in the morning, participate in Ludi and Olympika sports, and submit a variety of art projects. Flint Hill alone took twenty-three students and four sponsors, one of the larger school delegations at convention.

During the week, students were given the opportunity to participate in many 10

competitions, and this variety of competitions is what makes the classics so great. Our classics students engaged in costume contests, Latin and English Oratory, and attended colloquia sessions where they discussed the importance of Roman life and how it affected the modern world. All of these opportunities will also be available at a smaller level this November as our Classics Club will attend the VJCL convention in Richmond.

This year was special because one of our own huskies, Calvin Lucido ’20, is currently serving on the VJCL board as the Virginia State Editor. In fact, he won 5th place for his state Latin newspaper. Additionally, our local editor, Julianne Cuevo ’20, won 2nd place nationally for the magazine you are reading right now!

Other awards won by our Flint Hill Classics Department include 5th place in digital scrapbook and twelve Top10 placements across all age divisions of the NJCL Creative Writing Contest. We also received recognition for our many students who showed excellence in both the National Latin Exam and National Greek Exam.

Also, as a state, Virginia also brought home first place overall in spirit. Flint Hill had three students earn the highly esteemed “Spirit Royalty” awards: Natalie Naylor ’21, Nix Kramer ’19, and I were all awarded Spirit Queen by Virginia’s 2nd Vice President on three different days. I also performed Virginia’s “roll call” which earned first place.

The last, and in my opinion most important, recognition was given to Mr. Andino for attending his 25th convention!

This means he has spent a total of six months of his life at an NJCL convention… crazy.

Overall, we had quite a successful convention. Next year, we hope to take a large group of our huskies to NJCL because the National convention will be in our home state! The 67th annual Junior Classical League convention will be held at Richmond University. Hope to see you there!

Article by Avishka Boppudi

What Greek Vase Are You? 1 6 A Have some Halloween candy:

A. Starbursts B. Skittles C. Almond Joy D. Sour Patch Kids

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Get vaccinated:

A. Meningitis B. Influenza C. Tetanus D. Chicken Pox

You’re a goose.

What do you do?

A. Hide in box B. Chaze pizza man C. Steal glasses D. Turn on hose

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7 B

A. Greek Middle Voice B. Indirect Statement C. Passive Periphrastic D. SCID

What is your voice part?

A. Countertenor B. Mezzo Soprano C. Contrabass D. Contralto

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Which Mariokart course is your favorite?

A. Moo Moo Meadows B. Bowser’s Castle C. Rainbow Road D. Waluigi’s Haunted Mansion

Which pastry are you baking?

A. Shortcrust B. Puff C. Phyllo D. Choux

Krater!

If you got mostly Bs, you are an Amphora! You’re everyone’s favorite Greek vase, as well as a mediocre restaurant. The amphora’s uses included storage, transport, and ceremonial purposes. Congrats on your versatility!

C

If you got mostly Cs, you are a Loutrophoros!

The Greeks used the loutrophoros for funeral and pre-nuptial rituals. This is a special vase; good on you for knowing your worth!

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If you got mostly Ds, you are a Chytra! This earthenware cooking pot was essential in every Greek household. You’re comfortable in what you do best, but don’t be afraid to branch out!

Amphora!

Photo: metmuseum.org

A. Orbeez B. Pillow Pet C. Moon Sand D. Snuggie

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What is the worst grammar concept?

Photo: metmuseum.org

Buy an As Seen on TV product:

Chytra!

Photo: mfa.org

A. Rock of Ages B. Mamma Mia! C. American Idiot D. Jersey Boys

If you got mostly As, you are a Krater! The krater was a huge vase involved in mixing wine. Just like kraters, which were placed in the middle of the room at Greek symposia, you’re confident being the center of attention.

Photo: britishmuseum.org

Which jukebox musical would you see?

Loutrophoros!

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Classical Costumes

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alloween is upon us, and if you’re like me, you’ve haven’t chosen a costume yet. But never fear!

I’ve scoured the Internet for the best and the worst of Classical costumes for your trick-or-treating pleasure.

I appreciate the beard, but the shoes? Freak me out. If I were Posideon, I wouldn’t want to be wearing all of those layers when swimming.

Also looks too much like King Triton from The Little Mermaid. 4/10 wouldn’t wear at a swim meet.

Pretty good, but both look dead inside. However, it is spooky szn, so the dead look 12

might actually add to the aesthetic. 8/10 would wear to get lasagna at convention.

This model looks like he didn’t try in a costume contest. He’s terrifying and looks like he wants to maim me. Also, his shoes are weird.

3/10 boring with a scary model.

While I’m all for sheer capes, I’m not sure about the historical accuracy. If that isn’t your thing, though, I think this costume is perfectly fine. 6/10 would dramatically look off into the distance at nothing.

This toddler has more power than me. Really cute, but looks like they would send me into the arena to fight to the death because I didn’t give them their apple juice. Good costume though. Guaranteed to foster leadership and ruthlessness at a young age. 8/10 would let them control an empire.

This is what I’m talking about. Execution, weird leg hooves with matching fur, strangely small axe - all of it is perfection. There’s nothing else to say other than 10/10.

Article by Emma Conkle Photos: halloweencostumes.com

FHCC’s Fall Highlights

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verall, the Flint Hill Classics Club has had a very successful start to the year. The stand out events of the club so far have been Toga Mini-Golf and annual Homecoming pumpkin decorating booth.

On October 4th, Classics students from both the upper and middle school met for mini-golf while wearing “snazzy” togas. Despite their overwhelming eagerness to beat the middle schoolers in mini-golf, the half mile walk while wearing togas was not as appreciated by the upper schoolers. The event is a good opportunity for middle schoolers to meet possible upper school mentors and get a sneak peek at what it’s like being a classics student in high school.

Aside from the fun that was had while golfing, students also enjoyed an encounter with a baby snake, as recalled

by Quinn Griffith ’22: “Despite thinking I wouldn’t encounter anything too crazy in toga mini-

golf, I saw a baby snake and had to save it. You never know what you’re going to see in Latin trips.” After the snake incident, students continued golfing only for the upper schoolers to realize that they had significantly underestimated the golfing abilities of the middle schoolers. As said by Jack ‘Rana’ Bobby ’22, “I’m still surprised to the precision at which a middle schooler hits a golf ball.”

Once the golfing was completed, Elan Jones ’25 amazed the audience of both students and teachers with his ability to recite the Latin Prepositions Song. In awe, Noah Anderson Weiskircher ’23 stated, “I began to question my own ability at remembering the Latin prepositions, and I realized that a seventh grader knows Latin grammar better than me.”

All in all, the event was great not only as outreach but as a means to have fun and foster JClove in the Flint Hill Classics Club with members young and

Upper and middle school students celebrate their minigolf victories with a photo op. (Photo: Woojin Kim)

old (sorry seniors!).

Our next fall event was the annual Flint Hill Classics Club Homecoming pumpkin painting booth. The event is as follows: students from around the school donate pumpkins to the Classics Club; later, these pumpkins are decorated and painted by the attendees of the Classics Club booth at Homecoming. Primarily, the pumpkin painting was enjoyed by the younger members both in and out of the Classics Club community, although many upperclassmen were happy to let out their inner child.

Alongside the pumpkin painting, students were also able to play Pin the Snake on the Medusa. The event was another success for the Flint Hill Classic Club, garnering many smiles and hopefully, many future JCLers. We hope to see you at one of our future events, but for now, vale!

Article by Necati Unsal

Visitors to the Homecoming booth proudly showcase their decorated pumpkins. (Photo: Emma Conkle)

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Mad Libs Have you ever been to NJCL Convention? No? Are you ____________? This past ADJECTIVE

____________, convention was held at ____________. Every year, over 1200 ____________ SEASON

COLLEGE

PLURAL NOUN

participate from across the country. Before they attend, many spend weeks designing and creating elaborate ____________ with a classical theme. Once there, they cheer PLURAL NOUN

for their ____________ in certamen, compete in ____________, and even take ____________ NOUN

NOUN

ADJECTIVE

tests. But everyone’s favorite part is ____________ Assembly. Participation is mandatory ADJECTIVE

because the states with the most spirit at Assembly receive ____________. The PLURAL NOUN

assemblies are ____________ by the JCL Officers. Announcements are read, speeches PASSIVE VERB

are given, and each state does a skit introducing themselves, which must be shorter than ____________. A large portion of convention is spent campaigning to ____________ VERB

LENGTH OF TIME

new officers who are sworn in at the very end. Every night there are activities such as dances, karaoke, and ____________. All the attendees ____________ the talent show, NOUN

VERB

“That’s ____________.” During the day, the dining hall is open, and JCLers sell t-shirts, NOUN

books, and ____________ at the bazaar. Convention is so ____________! It will be the PLURAL NOUN

ADJECTIVE

most ____________ you’ve ever had!

NOUN

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VJCL delegates participate in spirit. (Photo: Sherry Doerfler)

Memes Latinae

Memes provided by Jake Berkowitz and Avishka Boppudi 15

FAMA

The Official Publication of the Flint Hill Classics Club Photo: Sherry Doerfler

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