Last weekend, the Austin-area Latin Convention was hosted by Anderson High School. Annually, it brings together schools from the Austin-area so that students can network and compete in various Classical events. Certamen is a buzzer game that requires students to work together, process and synthesize information quickly and effectively, and use their knowledge of Latin creatively to answer questions. St. Andrew’s had four Certamen teams representing the school, in each level of competition: Middle School, Novice, Intermediate and Advanced.
The Middle School team consisting of Laney Goodrum, William Sykes, Luke Weaver, and TJ Jobe, played three great preliminary rounds. They advanced to finals, and after a tough final round they placed third in their division.
The Novice team consisted of Squeaky Buentipo and Carolyn Christian who played some good preliminaries. Sadly, they did not move onto finals after placing 4th in their division.
The Advanced team consisting of Parker Brandt, Tristram Coffin, Jack Cowan, Sina Mohammadi, and Will Snider played some strong preliminary rounds and advanced to finals. After a nail-biting final round they came in second in their division.
The Intermediate team consisting of Bering Edwards, Lorelei Ing and Emma Schmidt, dominated the preliminary rounds. The Intermediate team moved onto the finals and placed first. They will represent Area F at the State Convention on April 13th and 14th in Dallas.
At the end of March, both the Intermediate and Advanced teams will also travel to Cambridge, Massachusetts to participate in the Harvard Certamen Invitational. This will be an amazing opportunity for our Certamen players, and will allow them to meet Certamen players from other states.
As a school, St. Andrew's Upper School took third in the overall Academic sweepstakes, calculated by adding points for each student who placed in the top three in their contests. Five students were recognized for having the highest score at any level on their tests. Emma Erben was recognized for having the high score on Latin Derivatives test. Parker Brandt was recognized for having the high score on Greek and Roman History tests. Jacqueline Smith was recognized for having the high score on Mottoes. Jack Cowan was recognized for having the high score on Latin Literature tests.
For the second year in a row, Bering Edwards was named Armadillo Junior Scholar of the year for his high score on the Decathlon test out of all the 1/2 A and 1/2 B students who took the exam. It is almost unheard of for a student to win this award twice. Bering’s accomplishment is indicative a great deal of hard work and learning.
The individual awards follow:
1st Place
Jasmine Aghazadeh Dramatic Interpretation
Michael BarrowLatin Oratory level 1/2 B
Michael BarrowMottoes level 1/2 B
Parker Brandt Greek History level 3
Parker Brandt Roman History
Carolyn Christian Classical Art
Jack Cowan Latin Literature
Avery Duncan Greek History level 4
Bering EdwardsMythology level 1/2 B
Bering EdwardsDecathlon level 1/2 B
Emma Erben Latin Derivatives
Molly Fox Monochromatic Art
Emma Schmidt Mottoes level 2
Kern Singh-Rehani Greek History level 1
Jackie Smith Mottoes level 5
William SykesGrammar level 1/2A
William SykesRoman Life level 1/2 A
Maria Tobias Sight Recitation
Maria Tobias Vocal Solo
Matthew Tobias Ancient Geography
Matthew Tobias Roman Life level 5
2nd Place
Paige Anderson Roman Life
Blake Birdwell 400 M Relay
Oliver Chapin-Eiserloh Classical Art
Carolyn Christian Grammar
Henry Erlinger 400 M Relay
John Fontenot Latin Literature
John Fontenot 400 M Relay
Molly Fox Latin Oratory
Sofia Gonzalez Play
Lorelei Ing Play
TJ Jobe Reading Comprehension level 1/2 A
Lila Josey Roman Life level 1
Gray McKinnerney Play
Sina Mohammadi 400 M Relay
Morgan Nascone Mottoes
Emma Schmidt Decathlon level 2
Kern Singh-Rehani Roman History
Jackie Smith Dramatic Interpretation
Will Snider Decathlon level 3
Will Snider Reading Comprehension
Luke Weaver Grammar level 1/2 B
3rd Place
Kevin Adams Jr. Roman Life
Adrian Almy Ancient Geography level 4
Drew Aronoff Ancient Geography level 3
Blake Birdwell 200 M Dash
Squeaky Buentipo Vocabulary level 1
Andrew Buller Roman Life
Jack Cowan Roman History
Katie Cowan Latin Derivatives level 5
Maddy Clark Latin Derivatives level 1
Victoria Curtin Latin Oratory level 5
Emma Erben Decathlon
Sofia Gonzalez Sight Recitation
Sofia Gonzalez Vocabulary level 2
Laney Goodrum Reading Comprehension level 1/2 B
Aidan Madoff Mottoes level 2
Jack Malone Mottoes level 1
Gray McKinnerney Classical Art level 3
Sina Mohammadi Sight Recitation
Jack Stout Classical Art level 2
Kyla Thompson Latin Oratory level 3
Receiving summa cum laude awards for the Pentathlon were: Kevin Adams Jr., Adrian Almy, Michael Barrow, Parker Brandt, Squeaky Buentipo, Jack Cowan, Bering Edwards, Emma Erben, Sina Mohammadi, Emma Schmidt, William Sykes, Will Snider, and Luke Weaver
Receiving maxima cum laude awards for the Pentathlon were: Blake Birdwell, Carolyn Christian, Tristram Coffin, Truman Cunningham, Sofia Gonzalez, Laney Goodrum, Lorelei Ing, Gray McKinnerney, Morgan Nascone, Jacquelyn Smith, and Matthew Tobias
Receiving magna cum laude awards for the Pentathlon were: Paige Anderson, Drew Aronoff, Andrew Buller, Henry Erlinger, John Fontenot, Molly Fox, Ben Jackson, TJ Jobe, Jack Malone, Zach Okayli-Masaryk, Natalie Sequin, Kern Sing-Rehani, Michael Thomas, and Maria Tobias,
Receiving cum laude awards for the Pentathlon were: Jasmine Aghazadeh, Everett Bradley, Maddy Clark, Katie Cowan, Victoria Curtin, Avery Duncan, James Gernstein, Becker Jackson, Lila Josey, Taylor Josey, Jacob Marcus, Aidan Madoff, Vera Milam, Cole Nascone, Jill Pewitt, Jack Stout, Kyla Thompson, and Niclos Zarafshani
We so appreciate the many parents, students, and alumni who helped at the event. Congratulations to all the winners and bonam fortunam omnibus at State. The State Convention will be held on April 13-14 at Naaman Forest High School in Garland.