Dear Colleagues and Friends,

Layfolk seldom understand the critical need for teachers to have some down time in the summer. Trust me, I always enjoyed summer adventures and down time with their power to restore energy and make the arrival of the new school year welcome. I especially came to appreciate that summer respite even more when I became an associate principal and worked year-round.

So, as we mark the halfway point of summer, be sure to take time for yourself. Relax, restore, and rejuvenate. This issue’s teaching tip offers a summer reflection exercise that prepares you for the new school year.

A highlight for me each summer is representing Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers at the Annual Institute of the American Classical League. It’s great to catch up with friends and colleagues, to meet those new to the profession or ACL, and to celebrate the past year’s accomplishments. Of course, the celebration of recognizing the year’s ACL Merens Award honorees always stands out as special. This year was special as I personally knew each of the honorees. Fellow New Englander Mark Pearsall graciously welcomed me and made me feel at home when I first began attending CANE (Classical Association of New England) annual meetings. I served as editor for Ronnie Ancona and coauthor David Murphy’s A Horace Workbook and Horace: A LEGAMUS Transitional Reader. Nava Cohen I first met years ago when we were both teaching Latin and participating in the Illinois Classical Conference. While I knew of John Gruber-Miller and especially his commitment to pedagogy, I became more impressed as I learned more about him and came to know him better when my former student Phil Venticinque joined the classics faculty at Cornell College. Four outstanding teachers, classicists, and servants of the classics community. Congratulations!

Do, please, be sure to make time for yourself before school gears up. You have certainly earned it.

All good wishes for the rest of the summer.

Don

 

 

Please be sure to see the announcement in this issue about registering for a print copy of the 2023–2024 Roman Calendar to be mailed to you.

The energy at the end of the school year is intense. We wrap up projects and presentations with our students, we administer final exams, we finish grade calculations, we attend last faculty meetings and socials, and we celebrate graduation. As the dust has settled and we are enjoying summer, it’s a great moment to take stock on the previous school year and look forward to the next one. Reflection is a powerful tool for both wrapping up and looking ahead. Consider devoting a little time to a simple exercise that will help you celebrate your success and bring some priorities into focus for next year.

Reflection takes time and the right frame of mind. Make sure that the busyness of the last instructional days is sufficiently behind you. When you are ready, carve out an hour or so to reflect on the past academic year. Here’s a process that has worked well for me over the past several years.

As you’re reflecting, keep in mind as many of the following areas as speak to you: instruction, planning, classroom management, connection with students, connection with colleagues, and cocurriculars.

 

Lynne West is a veteran teacher and teacher leader in K–12 schools. She earned her teaching credentials at Santa Clara University, her master’s degree from the University of California at Santa Barbara, and a bachelor’s degree from the University of California at Los Angeles. In 2016, as a Fulbright Distinguished Teaching awardee, West studied pedagogy at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. She founded Sunodia Educational Consulting to share her passion for teaching with her fellow educators by providing creative, tailored, and patient professional development services.

 

If you would like to request a live online meeting to learn more,
email Lumina@ bolchazy.com.

The splendid campus of Washington University of St. Louis provided a welcoming if steamy site for the 76th Annual Institute of the American Classical League. Nearly two hundred classicists descended on Danforth University Center for registration, meals, and the broad range of presentations on the program. In addition to the on-campus attendees, those unable to attend appreciated the opportunity to pursue this special professional development remotely. The energy and enthusiasm of the group generated a steady buzz throughout the institute.

 

Coffee breaks took place in the foyer of Umrath Hall while the exhibitors, a recent record number, filled the wood-beamed main meeting hall. The Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers trio, president Bridget Dean, her ten-year-old daughter Liz, and Don Sprague, settled into the cozy mini-apse at the back of the hall. Four tables teemed with beloved and iconic titles alongside the new koine Greek titles—Reading the Gospel of St. John in Greek and New Testament Greek: A Reading Course. One of the four tables honored ACL Merens Awardee Ronnie Ancona with a display of books she has authored or coauthored as well as the nineteen BC Latin Readers for which she served as series editor.

 

 

 

 

Despite hot temperatures and high humidity, renovation construction that turned Danforth University Center into a labyrinth, and intermittent deluges replete with thunder and lightning, the institute proved a great success. And, mirabile visu, the skies cleared and the heat dropped a bit Saturday evening as folks made their way across campus for the annual banquet. The catering team did a terrific job efficiently delivering meals in the special setting of the RISA Commons meeting hall. Ut mos est, the banquet’s high point was the Merens Awards presentations. ACL president Jennie Luongo masterfully proclaimed the citations for the four recipients. Multum in parvo. Brava, Madam President!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks to those who braved the heat to visit us in Umrath Hall. We look forward to seeing all of you at Institute 77 in Tucson next June!

  

 

Benita Kane Jaro’s carefully researched novels explore the Roman world of four significant Romans—Julius Caesar, The Door in the Wall; Cicero, The Lock; Catullus, The Key; Ovid, Betray the Night.

 

 

This offer is valid for up to (5) copies of each title, prepaid, no returns.