JCL Seeks State, National Honors

When Joan Romanosky arrived on campus in 2005 to teach Middle School Latin, she started a program that she had become familiar with at her previous school. Nearly 20 years later, the Middle School Junior Classical League that Romanosky helped launch at Greenhill is still going strong.

Also known as JCL, the Latin competition is dedicated to growing students’ understanding of the language and giving them lifelong memories.

e activities include academic competitions, vocal and acting, costumes, and performance opportunities.

On Saturday, Feb. 28, 40 of 52 Greenhill Middle School students who competed at the Area C competition at Jesuit College Preparatory School of Dallas quali ed for the state JCL competition on April 14-15. e top nishers at the state competition will qualify for the nationals at Emory University in Atlanta in July.

In the February competition, the Greenhill Middle school team took rst place in Certamen, which is a Latin-themed quiz bowl competition. Seventh-grade students Tomal Khan, Dylan Shah, Ansh Gandhi, Arman Makhani, and Connor Kim comprise the JCL team for the quiz bowl competition.

Another Latin teacher, Jenna Laurie, has been greatly involved with JCL since she was in high school in 2011 and she judged her rst competition in 2013. She helped lead the Middle School’s rst-place JCL team last year, Romanosky said.

Eighth-grader Carys Diamond said she was drawn to the activity as “a fun way to get better at Latin and to improve my knowledge of ancient Roman culture.”

Eighth-grader Lydia Kerridge described JCL as “a great way to meet new people with similar interests and go on trips with your friends.”

Romanosky views JCL as a place to make memories and learn new things.

“It’s educational but it’s also fun and a way to make friends and do what they enjoy,” Romanosky said. “I think it is a great organization that allows for leadership.” look

Laurie said she wants students to experience some of the memories that made JCL special to her as a student.