What is Classics Club?
 Classics Club was created over 20 years ago to provide a
club atmosphere for elementary students
 It is being revitalized to provide a place for K-6
students to develop experiences similar to those in
NJCL
 We call it “parva” NJCL
 Classics Club is designed for students in public,
private, and homeschool groups
 It is an enrichment activity, for in the classroom or
after school
What is included?
 Members receive an activity
packet, with activities in








Ancient Geography
Classical Art
Classical Mythology
Greek and Roman Culture
Greek and Roman History
Latin Grammar
Latin Vocabulary
Olympics – Greco-Roman Sports
 Students chose 2 activities from 6 of the categories to complete
to earn stickers for their standard
 When 6 stickers have been earned by the students, they receive a
certificate of completion & ribbon
Sample Activities
 ART Challenge Activity: Mosaic
 Students create a mosaic.
 LATIN VOCABULARY Challenge Activity: Picture Dictionary
 Students create a picture dictionary with animal and nature words from the
Exploratory Latin Exam
 ANCIENT GEOGRAPHY Challenge Activity: Make a Travel Brochure
 Students create a travel brochure advertising visiting locations in Ancient
Greece which were important to heroes (Hercules, Theseus, Perseus)
 OLYMPICS -- GRECO-ROMAN SPORTS Challenge Activity: Olympic
Games II
 Students develop and celebrate their own set of Olympic games, creating
modern equivalents (ex: Friscus for Discus)
The Pilot Program
 Groups who had shown interest from across the
country were invited to participate
 9 groups participated
 81 students were members
 In June, surveys were sent to those who participated
and those who did not
Non-Participants
 Reasons for not participating
 lack of school/district support
 lack of time
 lack of student interest
 confusion on part of sponsor about the program
 All who responded to this survey indicated they would
like to participate in the future
Participants
Public schools – 2
Homeschool groups – 3
Private or Parochial schools – 1
Homeschool family – 1
How was the program used?
Latin class – in class program
 Participants were
1
satisfied to extremely
satisfied about
 cost of the program
Latin class – after school
program
2
 quality of materials
Enrichment program (no Latin
in school)
2
 Overall experience with
Classics related course – after
school program
1
Other (NME prep course)
1
Classics Club:
 2 - satisfied
 4 - extremely satisfied
Participants were asked to provide their opinions of Activities:
Ancient Geography
One group felt activities were too
difficult. (grades 4-6)
Another recommended
incorporating changes over time
and utilizing Google maps.
Classical Art
One group felt they needed more
direction for activities.
Classical Mythology
Greek & Roman Culture
One group commented that while the
topics varied, students felt they spent
more time researching than applying
skills
Greek & Roman History
One group felt activities were too
difficult. (grades 4-6)
One group felt there were not
enough activity options.
Latin Grammar
One group felt activities were too easy.
Another group did not complete
because not all students study Latin.
Latin Vocabulary
One group felt activities were too easy.
Another group did not complete
because not all students study Latin.
Olympics
One group said not enough activity
options.
3 groups did not complete this activity.
Additional Feedback
 Monthly meetings were not sufficient for a club to complete
activities
 More details and directions, especially in Classical Art.
 Offer some cooperative learning activities, more application
activities (ex: acting out Latin Grammar sentences)
 Integrating parents more fully into the program
 This is difficult, as some Classics Clubs involve one sponsor and
many children
 Working with the community
 We are thinking about an optional “Community Service” Badge
 Students want more competition.
 One school created a school competition and judged activities
based upon Academic Merit, Creativity, and Overall Presentation.
 The website was never fully implemented. We plan on
incorporating competitions through the website.
Additional Comments
 The club helped one student gain interest in Latin and
go from a D to a B the next quarter. He loved the
activities.
 The students really liked the opportunity to
demonstrate their skill sets without the pressure of
grades!
 Great ideas for activities with learning ideas nicely
embedded.
 The kids who did attend were so excited and went
around saying "Salve!" to everyone. They love
mythology!
Summary
 Overall, Pilot Program members seemed pleased with




the program
Areas to work on: Olympics, Latin Grammar, Latin
Vocabulary, & Greek & Roman History
Providing additional resources, clarifying directions,
website
Community involvement
Competition
 Food for thought:
 Several groups seemed interested in using the program to
help revitalize Latin programs in danger of closing
 Several pilot program groups mentioned using older
students to help facilitate the program
Some finished projects!
These students were able to enter projects into the NJJCL
State Convention – look at all their awards!
Photo courtesy of Courtney Hasner, Sponsor for J.P. Stevens High School &
SubRosa Latin Academy
Thank you to…
Pilot Program Sponsors
Yolanda Belton
Courtney Hasner
Donna Metler
Dana Miller
Susan Rohrbach
Catherine Stancil
* While we had other Sponsors, these are
the ones who responded to our survey.
Without them, this presentation would
not be possible!
Classics Club Committee Members
Zee Poerio, Classics Club Chair
Penny Cipolone
Christine Pham Hahn
Krystal Kubichek
Lexie Phelan
Kris Tracy
Mary Weaver