Harriton Conquers First Place at Dickinson Latin Festival

Kit Meiler, Staff Writer|May 13, 2014

On Wednesday, April 30, twenty-five of Harriton’s Latin students traveled to Dickinson College for the annual Classics Festival competition. Harriton joined Latin students from around the area in entering their projects and competing in events. Magistra Cambria, who began teaching at Harriton last year, led her students to this competition.

Harriton students submitted beautifully crafted paintings, mosaics, and drawings to the competition this year. Aurora Murray’s captivating rendition of Medusa earned third place in the sketches and drawings category. Aaron Diamond-Reivich competed in the fresco category for the second consecutive year, earning first place.

Harriton also submitted essay, translation, and poetry entries prior to the day of the competition; students fared exceptionally well in these categories.

On the day of the Latin Festival, the schools in attendance gathered in an auditorium similar to the Elizabethan era’s globe theater. Here, students partook in the spelling bee and mythology bowl, and performed Latin songs and skits.

Jake and Aaron Diamond-Reivich, Matt Binnion, Teddy Kotler, Nate Rush, and Dan Cohn performed a cappella renditions of songs by the backstreet boys—entirely in Latin! The performance was extremely popular with the audience, and they received third place.

Christopher Walsh, Ryan Boman, Jacob Swartley, Ricky Maio, and Reilly Bova performed a Latin adaption of Abbott and Costello’s famous “Who’s on first,” receiving second place. Another notable performance in the drama category was another school’s performance of a Latin version of Disney’s Frozen. Magistra Cambria commented, “I have noticed that the quality of songs and skits has increased. There is no doubt that Harriton’s leadership in the performing events last year influenced this!”

One of the many unique aspects of the competition is the fashion show. Harriton freshman, Veronica Fenton, won first place for her exquisite outfit, which was modeled by Olivia Prendergast.

After a day full of entertainment and excitement, it was finally time to decide the winners of the 2014 Latin Festival. When it was announced that Harriton came in first place overall, excited shouts from our Latin students echoed around the auditorium. “Everyone worked hard so we were really happy we won,” said Harriton student, Ryan Boman. Christopher Walsh concurred, “After hours of singing and acting in the hallway, we finally got our trophy.”

The excitement of the day did not stop after Harriton Latin students left Dickinson; on the bus ride home, Harriton’s bus broke down, putting students who were to perform in that night’s spring instrumental concert on edge. Luckily, the bus driver was able to resolve the problem and deliver students safely back to Harriton.

“This competition is a great way to make Latin more exciting! Most of the students who participated in it last year were really looking forward to it again! This is the spirit of Harriton,” exclaimed a proud Magistra Cambria. Congratulations to all who participated in the competition! Check out the complete list of results below!

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2014 Dickinson Classics Festival Results

Veni, Vidi, Scripsi (I came, I saw, I wrote)

Alpha 2nd place Matt Maruca

Gamma 1st place Victoria Alfred-Levow

Translations

Alpha 1st place Zach Alfred-Levow

2nd place Chloe Niu

Beta 2nd place Kyhl Weber

Gamma 3rd place Victoria Alfred-Levow

Latin Drama

2nd place adaptation of “Who’s on first”