The Junior Classical League’s Certamen team celebrates the end of an eventful day at the Certamen Tournament on Feb. 2. In this tournament, teams answer questions using their knowledge of Latin history and culture against other schools in the New Orleans area.
Members of DHS’s Certamen team are seniors Elise Cresson, Camille Scandurro, freshmen Janie Bickerton, Ada Holmes, Elizabeth Mobley, senior Isabelle Mermilliod, junior Irene Yu, senior Anne D’Armond, and freshman Katherine Mansfield. Bickerton, Holmes, Mobley and Mansfield – members of the Intermediate Certamen Team – took first in the competition.
The Junior Classical League is Dominican’s resident Latin, Greek and ancient culture club that participates in classics-themed events related to the preservation of ancient history and culture, such as the Certamen Tournament. The Certamen Tournament is an annual Latin quiz bowl sponsored by the Louisiana Junior Classical League in which several schools in the New Orleans area participate.
During the tournament at Archbishop Chapelle High School, teams of five students from competing schools crowded around buzzers as they competed to answer trivia questions. The questions ranged from mythology and history to grammar and mathematical equations that must be answered in Latin. Certamen means “contest” or even “struggle/battle” in Latin, which is fitting for the tournament’s atmosphere.
“As nerve wracking as it is to try to understand the Latin phrases (during the tournament) and to be expected to answer ‘in Latine,’ it is so rewarding to win a question for your team,” said JCL president senior Anne D’Armond. “Even if it was a pure guess.”
- Natalie Rodriguez-Ema