MOUNT VERNON — Considered by many to be a dead language, Latin is alive and well at Mount Vernon High School. Students from Mount Vernon Middle School and St. Vincent de Paul School join scholars from Mount Vernon High School to learn about historical Latin culture as well as the language.
Student Abby Brumme said she takes Latin because it is the base of several different world languages, and because she likes learning about Roman culture and making mosaics. One of the unexpected pieces of information she discovered is “the nasty stuff the Romans ate — like mice stuffed with pine cones.”
Students taught by Mary Jo Behrensmeyer recently participated in the National Latin Exam, which reflects excellence in the pursuit of Latin. Behrensmeyer said 175,000 students worldwide took the exam, and Mount Vernon brought home 11 medals and 21 awards.
Winning Summa Cum Laude Gold medals are Sophia DePasquale, Jackson Fox, Eric Gordon and Sally Wilson. Silver medal winners are Luke Skon, John Lortie, Glynis Schumacher, Amy Rice, Kelsey Pike, Ben Robinson and Sarah Rowe. Magna Cum Laude honors went to Victoria Bell, Justin Tannehill, Brent Lang and Jordon Brooks. Achieving Cum Laude status were: Heather Waldrup, Emily Teater, Ryan Thomas, Sarah Nimeth, Nathan Pressler and Chloe Coleman.
