Latin Novella Reading Club (Summer)
Term: Summer 2020, July 6–August 12 (12 sessions)
Target Grade Levels: Grades 6–9 (see placement details below)
Schedule: 2x / week
Price: $150.00
Course Sections
Section 1: M/W 11:30 a.m. ET with Reagan Israel (Section Full: Join Waiting List)
Section 2: M/W 2:15 p.m. ET with Reagan Israel (Section Full: Join Waiting List)
Joint Enrollment: This course is offered as a joint-enrollment class between Scholé Academy and St. Raphael School.
The Latin Novella Reading Club seeks to introduce students to reading neo-Latin (modern Latin) texts and discussing them in Latin. Through the use of short, simple, illustrated Latin novellas, students will gradually learn to read fluently for comprehension without always translating into English. Over the course of 6 weeks and under the guidance of the instructor, students will progress from translating and parsing a single word at a time to reading and speaking in complete, simple Latin sentences. By the end of the course, students will be at ease reading simple Latin passages fluently. Students will also be able to ask and answer simple questions in Latin such as, “Do you want cheese?” “Why do girls like flowers?” and “What kind of man do you think Odysseus is?”
Syllabus: View the course syllabus here.
Placement: Please read about our new process above.
- This reading club is designed for students who have attained an advanced beginner level of Latin. This course teaches grammar only incidentally, as needed. Students coming from Scholé Academy/Classical Academic Press Latin courses should have completed Latin for Children C or Latin 1. Motivated students who have completed Latin for Children B with a high grade are also welcome.
- Students who have used another Latin curriculum should be comfortable with the following grammatical concepts:
- First-, second-, and third-declension nouns and adjectives
- First- and second-conjugation verbs
- Common irregular verbs (sum, esse; do, dare; eo, ire; ago, agere; facio, facere; volo, velle), infinitives, and imperatives
- Adverbs
- Personal and possessive pronouns
- Simple prepositional phrases
- This course does not require students to have previous experience with spoken Latin, but students should be ready to jump in and try! Our first class meetings will focus on acquiring basic conversational and reading skills, after which we will gradually increase the amount of time spent speaking Latin during each class period.
- The course is geared toward rising 6th–9th graders. When considering whether this course is a good fit for your student, please keep in mind that in addition to readiness for the course content, students should be developmentally prepared to engage in a 6th–9th grade corporate learning environment as well as the online classroom dynamic.
Required Texts*
- Ego, Polyphemus by Andrew Olimpi (ISBN: 9781719066433)
- Sacri Pulli by Emma Vanderpool (ISBN: 9781686669415)
*Required texts are not included in the purchase of the course.
Reagan Israel has a BS in psychology and is currently in graduate school, studying ancient Greek and Hebrew in Jerusalem. A Texas native, Ms. Israel taught Latin and ancient humanities at a classical school in Houston for 4 years. During her time there, she was introduced to “active Latin” pedagogy through a series of workshops and began to apply these methods in her classroom. In a past life, Ms. Israel was a professional ballet dancer and for 7 years has stayed connected to the art through teaching and choreographing. In both the studio and the academic classroom, she enjoys working with middle schoolers and being a part of their lives as they grow from childhood into adolescence. Ms. Israel is married to a musician and mobile app designer; they currently make their home in Jerusalem, where they enjoy reading widely, drinking Turkish coffee, and fumbling through Hebrew conversations. r.israel.scholeacademy@gmail.com
Computer: You will need a stable, reliable computer, running with a processor with a speed of 1 GHz or better on one of the following operating systems: Mac OS X with Mac OS 10.7 or later; Windows 8, 7, Vista (with SP1 or later), or XP (with SP3 or later). We do not recommend using an iPad or other tablet for joining classes. An inexpensive laptop or netbook would be a much better solution, as such devices enable you to plug an Ethernet cable directly into your computer. Please note that Chromebooks are allowed but not preferred, as they do not support certain features of the Zoom video conference software such as breakout sessions and annotation, which may be used by our teachers for class activities.
High-Speed Internet Connection: You will also need access to high-speed internet, preferably accessible via Ethernet cable right into your computer. Using Wi-Fi may work, but will not guarantee you the optimal use of your bandwidth. The faster your internet, the better. We recommend using a connection with a download/upload speed of 5/1 Mbps or better. You can test your Internet connection here.
Webcam: You may use an external webcam or one that is built in to the computer.
Headset: We recommend using a headset rather than a built-in microphone and speakers. Using a headset reduces the level of background noise heard by the entire class.
Zoom: We use a web conferencing software called Zoom for our classes, which enables students and teachers to gather from around the globe face to face in real time. Zoom is free to download and easy to use. 
To download Zoom:
- Visit zoom.us/download.
- Click to download the first option listed, Zoom Client for Meetings.
- Open and run the installer on your computer.
- In August, students will be provided with instructions and a link for joining their particular class.
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First, read the available course descriptions, noting prerequisites, target grades, and course objectives. If you think your student is prepared for the course, go ahead and register. After registration, a placement assessment may be provided to students, depending on the course and the student’s previous enrollment with Scholé Academy. Registration is finalized when the student’s placement assessment has been returned by the course instructor with placement confirmation.
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Our Assistant to the Principal will be in touch with you after your enrollment to help you with next steps, including any placement evaluations that may be required for your course selections.
This registration will be finalized when the student's placement assessment has been returned by the course instructor with placement confirmation.