Homestead Latin club venit et vicit

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Excelsior is Latin for ever upward, a fitting motto for the award-winning Homestead High School Junior Classical League.

In the nearly 26 years Kathy Adair has taught Latin and coached the spin-off JCL Club, the team has managed to bring home a first or second place at the state level every year. The club repeatedly wins the Indiana JCL Sweepstakes award for the best overall team, Adair said.

Adair, along with Ellen Waite, teaches more than 300 students Latin and coaches the extracurricular league.

After winning first at the Indiana JCL, the team advanced to the national competition at Wake Forest University in North Carolina, where it won fourth place in the publicity category.

The publicity chairs largely responsible for the win were Alicia Cuellar and William Ngo. The duo got high points by posting large JCL banners around the community and facilitating community service projects to educate people on the value and culture of Latin, Ngo said.

The banner was moved to more than 60 locations throughout the school year, even “in the freezing cold” and “scorching heat,” Cuellar said

They also crafted a Roman scarecrow/pumpkin display for the annual Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo Halloween event, presented the play, “Pandora’s Box” at a bookstore and read mythology books to children at the Allen County Public Library while wearing togas, Cuellar said..

Indiana JCL president Michelle Bonahoom, led the Indiana delegation through the week’s events, including Olympika events, academic tests, a Roman banquet and oratory contests.

The school’s JCL scrapbook, created by Courtney McGrew, also placed seventh nationally.

In its 25-year history, Homestead JCL has sponsored nine of the past 19 state presidents and one national president, as well as dozens of other state officers, Adair said.

vsade@jg.net

•The Canterbury Scholar Competition – open to all eighth-graders – will be Oct. 6, from 8:45 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Canterbury High School, 3210 Smith Road. Ten $8,000 tuition scholarships will be awarded to those who qualify through standardized testing, an essay, school transcripts and a personal interview. Parents are invited to tour the campus from 9 to 10:30 a.m. to learn about the college-preparatory curriculum, athletics, fine arts opportunities and other programs. Need-based financial aid is available to all participants who qualify. Register online at www.canterburyschool.org/scholars or call 407-3553 for more information.

•A Lead Awareness Fair: Hosted by the University of Saint Francis will be at Hamilton Park in the 1400 block of Cherokee Road off Spring Street from 1 to 3 p.m. on Sept. 18. All neighborhood families are invited to the fair. Children living within the surveyed area can receive lead- level sampling services from the Fort Wayne-Allen County Department of Health. For more information, contact Andrea Geyer at ageyer@sf.edu or 399-7700, ext. 8225.

•The Bishop Dwenger High School Speech Team has been awarded charter membership in the National Forensic League, known for its commitment to speech and debate education. Charter membership is the highest level of membership in the NFL. Under the guidance of coach Tim Leffers, and assistant coaches Chad Chenowith, Emily Didrick and Marin Tierney, about 25 students participate in nine meets a year, including state finals.

•East Allen County Schools was one of a dozen state school districts named to the Pennies for Patients Millionaires Club and recognized by the Indiana Chapter of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. East Allen students collected more than 1 million pennies for LLS during the 2011-12 school year or $10,900. Carmel Clay Schools placed first with $29,150. The 480 participating schools raised $620,000.

•Actor and activist Mia Farrow will open the IPFW 2012-13 Omnibus Lecture Series on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. in the Rhinehart Music Center. Farrow will present “With Knowledge Comes Responsibility: The Darfur Crisis.” Free tickets are required for all lectures. Tickets can be obtained in person at the Larson box office in the Gates Athletic Center; online at ipfw.edu/box-office or Wednesday in the Rhinehart Music Center one hour before the lecture, if seats remain.

•The Future City Orientation sessions will be Thursday and Oct. 9 at IPFW in the Walb Student Union, Room 114/116, from 4 to 5 p.m. Register by Sept. 30. The program is open to those in grades 6 to 8 with an interest in science, technology, engineering and math. A Future City workshop will be Sept. 27 at Walb Student Union, Room 114/116, from 4 to 8 p.m. Registration is required. The workshop is intended for educators and engineer mentors working with Future City teams. To register for any workshop, go to www.etcs.ipfw.edu/fcc or contact Carol Dostal at 481-6905.

•The first IPFW Lunches with Leaders series Wednesday will feature Steve Franks, IPFW alumnus, chief marketing officer at Vertical Leap and the former director of programs at Northeast Indiana Innovation Center. The sessions are in Walb Student Union, Rooms 222-226, from noon to 1 p.m. Availability on a first-come, first-served basis.