Thirty-three Greenhill Upper School and Middle School students attended the National Junior Classical League Convention from July 20-26. The competition took place at Indiana University Bloomington.
Many students who participated placed on the leaderboard in their respective events, receiving awards from academic competitions to athletic contests.
The process to qualify for Nationals differs between the two divisions. In Middle School, students receiving a first or second place ribbon from the JCL Area C Convention advance to the Texas State Junior Classical League Convention. If students receive a first or second place ribbon again, they advance to Nationals.
This past summer, 19 Middle School Latin students advanced.
In Upper School, the prerequisites to going to Nationals are less specific. Students are allowed to go if they show consistent interest in JCL, starting at the beginning of the school year.
“If they’ve been trying to attend meetings regularly and have been to Area or State unless there was an extenuating circumstance, we typically allow them to go to Nationals,” Upper School Latin Teacher and JCL Coach Jason Gajderowicz said.
Students typically stick with the same academic competitions throughout the year and, for some, multiple years. Middle School is the time for students to figure out what contests they enjoy participating in, according to sophomore Abe Glazer.
“My sixth-grade year, I was all over the place. I knew I wanted to do Ancient Geography, but then I chose grammar,” said Glazer. “And then I was like, ‘you know what? We’re just going to go into seventh grade and start something new I’ve never done before. Let’s try Roman History.’”
In addition to competing in Roman History, Glazer also became involved in athletics and spirit events, which he said helped bring together the different parts of JCL.
“It’s fun and it gives us these spirit points,” Glazer said. “All of everything comes together: the academics, the athletics, and just like the spirit chanting, all this kind of stuff, and all comes together to the sweepstakes.”
Students can also participate in artistic events, performances and community service. The Agora, a marketplace at Nationals, gives students the opportunity to sell items they create.
Greenhill students participated in events from photography and watercolor to mixed media, even expanding to handmade jewelry like junior Renee Tse.
The variety of activities allows students with different interests to find a place within JCL, according to Upper School Latin Teacher Jenn Jarnagin.
“That’s the big draw, I think, of JCL,” Jarnagin said. “You don’t have to be perfect at grammar to enjoy JCL.”
The social aspect of the organization also extends beyond competitions.
Students from different schools and states stay in the same dorms, attend events together and meet throughout the week. According to Glazer, JCL has helped him form friendships with students he otherwise would not have met.
“You get to see people in grades above you or below you that you normally wouldn’t interact with,” Glazer said. “I’ve made tons of friends through JCL, from [Texas], from other states, from [Greenhill], from other schools.”
Jarnagin hopes those friendships continue beyond the week at Nationals, giving students a community they can return to each year.
“You’ll see them run up to each other and give each other big hugs because they’re, you know, they get to see their friends, and that’s really special,” Jarnagin said.
The weeklong convention also gives students a chance to experience college life. Jarnagin says that staying in dorms and navigating Indiana University’s campus allows students to manage their schedules with more independence while still having chaperones nearby.
“You’re living basically on your own with friends,” Glazer said. “Like college, it really tests your time management.”
Looking to the future, Gajderowicz plans to make preparation more structured while also increasing opportunities for students to connect within Greenhill’s JCL Program. Plans include more organized study resources, community service opportunities, an initiation ceremony and possible movie nights.
“We did great last year and we want to continue that momentum into this year,” Gajderowicz said.
To view the awards received by students at Nationals, see below.
Dhruv Chaturvedi:
Mythology- 1st
Academic Triathlon- 2nd
Greek Life and Literature- 2nd
Ancient Geography- 3rd
Roman Life- 4th
Roman History- 9th
Open Certamen (Novice)- 1st
Modern Myth- 10th
Adam Samnani
Greek Life and Literature- 7th
Roman Life- 9th
Roman History- 11th
Academic Triathlon- 15th
Latin Derivatives- 15th
Mythology- 15th
Open Certamen (Novice)- 2nd
Ethan Wang
Hellenic History- 4th
Roman History- 10th
Academic Triathlon- 11th
Latin Derivatives- 12th
Mythology- 13th
Latin Oratory- 3rd
Mira Weinstein
Classical Greek- 2nd
Reading Comprehension- 4th
Roman Life- 4th
Greek Derivatives- 5th
Latin Vocabulary- 6th
Academic Triathlon- 8th
Latin Derivatives- 10th
Mythology- 14th
Costume (Junior Individual)- 4th
Henry Will
Mythology- 6th
Greek Life and Literature- 9th
Latin Derivatives- 10th
Roman History- 12th
Academic Triathlon- 14th
Level ½ B
Alais Fontaine
Latin Literature- 9th
Greek Life and Literature- 17th
Aarna Gandhi
Mottoes- 4th
Reading Comprehension- 11th
Dramatic Interpretation- 6th
Latin Literature- 16th
Latin Vocabulary- 17th
Impromptu Art (grades 6-9)- 2nd
Drawn Charts (grades 6-9)- 8th
Illustrated Quote (grades 6-9)- 9th
Vihaan Kumbhani
Mottoes- 9th
Hellenic History- 20th
Computer Enhanced Photography (grades 6-9)- 10th
Alex Loomis
Greek Derivatives- 15th
Impromptu Art- 5th
Anay Patel
Greek Derivatives- 4th
Roman Life- 19th
Brett Slavinsky
Roman Life- 7th
Greek Derivatives- 20th
Vikram Thoduguli
Latin Derivatives- 4th
Latin Vocabulary- 11th
Reading Comprehension- 11th
Latin Oratory- 1st
Sight Latin Reading- 10th
Computer Enhanced Photography (grades 6-9)- 7th
Traditional Photography (grades 6-9)- 7th
Simon Weinstein
Hellenic History- 17th
Latin Literature- 20th
Roman History- 20th
Level 2
Max Corona
Classical Art- 12th
Beckett Fuller
Classical Art- 20th
Eric Guo
Hellenic History- 19th
Roman History- 19th
Saamya Malladi
Greek Derivatives- 6th
Sruthi Thangamuthu
English Oratory (Lower Division)- 8th
Zayla Yousuf
Dramatic Interpretation- 1st
Sight Latin Reading- 3rd
Open Certamen (Intermediate)- 5th
Reading Comprehension0 14th
Level 3
Abe Glazer
Academic Decathlon- 41st
Maps: Drawn (6-9)- 10th
400 Meter Jr. Boys Track- 1st
Long Jump Jr. Boys- 1st
Alice Huang
Classical Art- 1st
Traditional Photo (6-9)- 2nd
Watercolor (6-9)- 2nd
Impromptu Art (6-9)- 7th
Evan Huang
Hellenic History- 4th
Latin Derivatives- 14th
Roman History- 19th
Latin Vocabulary- 34th
Miles Hulmes
Greek Life and Literature- 17th
Hellenic History- 18th
Roman Life- 22nd
Roman History- 25th
Latin Literature- 26th
Mottoes- 29th
Latin Derivatives- 33rd
Mythology- 34th
Discus Jr. Boys- 2nd
Arav Soni
Reading Comprehension: Prose- 18th
Greek Life and Literature- 24th
Hellenic History- 25th
Greek Derivatives- 28th
Latin Derivatives- 33rd
Latin Vocabulry0 33rd
Classical Greek- 34th
Academic Heptathlon- 35th
Mythology- 45th
Carrie Wang
Reading Comprehension: Prose- 10th
Roman Life- 11th
Reading Comprehension: Prose- 12th
Black Pencil (6-9)- 4th
Chalk/Pastel (6-10)- 7th
Level 4
Gitanjali Agastya
Latin Literature- 25th
Mythology- 30th
Mixed Media (10)- 5th
Cartoons (6-10)- 8th
Ansh Gandhi
Ancient Geography-1st
Latin Derivatives- 13th
Latin Literature- 31st
Traditional Photo (10)- 2nd
Computer Photo (10-12)- 10th
Ludi Minecraft- 2nd
Connor Kim
Greek Derivatives- 1st
Roman Life- 2nd
Latin Vocabulary- 26th
Academic Heptathlon- 31st
Renee Tse
Classical Art- 17th
Watercolor- 4th
Impromptu Art- 6th
Advanced
Anjali Blewett
Greek Derivatives- 7th
Reading Comprehension: Poetry- 11th
Tomal Khan
Latin Grammar- 2nd
Academic Heptathlon- 3rd
Latin Vocabulary- 4th
Reading Comprehension: Prose- 4th
Greek Life and Literature- 8th
Mottoes- 8th
Academic Decathlon- 12th
Latin Derivatives- 13th
Open Certamen (Advanced)- 2nd
Izzy Shiloh
Academic Decathlon- 59th
Latin Oratory (Advanced)- 6th
Rohan Swaminathan
Mythology- 4th
Hellenic History- 8th
Academic Heptathlon- 10th
Latin Derivatives- 12th
Roman History- 14th
