Dead Language Comes Alive at Beach School

By Hattie Brown Garrow, The Virginian-Pilot, Norfolk, Va.

Jan. 14–VIRGINIA BEACH — The image of Medusa, the mythological character with snakes for hair, began to form as four girls carefully arranged pieces of cereal and candy on a frosted sheet cake.

“Looking good so far, Alisha,” Sarah Schall said as her teammate used Cheerios to make the face. “It’s really shaping up.”

The teens, all juniors at Virginia Beach’s Princess Anne High School, and their competition are Latin students, not the kind of credentials typically helpful for a cake decorating contest. Even so, the girls were eager to win.

“I definitely wouldn’t want to eat it, though,” Sarah said. “After all the junk we put on it… “

For about 175 teens, Saturday was about testing their Latin language skills and having fun with elements of ancient Roman and Greek culture.

The second Hampton Roads Latin Day, held at Virginia Wesleyan College, attracted students from 12 high schools in Hampton, Virginia Beach and York County.

“It’s important to give the students more than just the classroom,” said Lynn Sawlivich, assistant professor of classics at Virginia Wesleyan. The event was sponsored by the college’s classics department and Tidewater Classical Symposium.

For the cake decorating contest, students had to design a cake in mosaic form while following the theme of monsters or unusual mythological characters. Students also recited ancient stories, took Greek dance lessons, and performed self-written orations in English and Latin, among other activities.

“They don’t feel shy showing that they’re academically motivated,” said Princess Anne High Latin teacher Kathleen Earles.

During the costume contest, many of the students donned bedsheets and other everyday household items to portray characters from Ovid’s “Metamorphoses.”

Ryley Sevier, a sophomore at Landstown High School in Virginia Beach, wore a red cape, armor made of spray-painted cardboard, and a helmet fashioned with a box, tape and the head of a broom. The Roman soldier costume also included an 11-foot spear made with PVC pipe.

“My stepdad’s a big history buff, so he gets in on all the details,” Ryley said. “I lucked out on this.”

— Reach Hattie Brown Garrow at (757) 222-5116 or hattie. brown@pilotonline.com.

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Copyright (c) 2007, The Virginian-Pilot, Norfolk, Va.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News.

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