THE TWENTY-EIGHTH ANNUAL VERMONT LATIN DAY:

Agenda for Planning Session

• 1. Date: Friday April 2, 20014; Patrick Gymnasium, UVM.
• 2. Skits and Texts for the Probatio and Certamen. Samples of Latin hypothesis (These with vocabulary and grammatical notes would constitute the texts to be used to prepare for the Probatio and Certamen):

  Hippolytus sive Phaedra (aut Euripidis aut Senecae):

  Phaedra Minois filia Thesei uxor Hippolytum privignum suum amavit, quem cum non potuisset perducere ad suam voluntatem, tabellas scriptas ad suum virum Theseum misit, se ab Hippolyto compressam esse, et se suspendio necavit. Theseus, litteris lectis, filium suum moenibus excedere iussit et optavit a Neptuno patre exitium filio suo. itaque cum Hippolytus equis iunctis veheretur, repente e mari taurus apparuit, cuius mugitu equi paventes Hippolytum distraxerunt vitaque privaverunt.

  Oedipus Sophoclei

  Laius, Labdaci filius, ab Apollinis oraculum audivit filium suum se necaturum esse. Itaque Iocasta Menoecei filia uxor eius cum peperisset, iussit infantem exponi. Infans expositus est, sed tamen, a pastoribus servatus, Polybo regi Corinthium mandatus est. Polybus nominavit eum Oedipum quod pedes transiectos haberet et educavit eum pro filio suo. Oraculum dixit Oedipum patrem suum necaturum. Itaque Oedipus iit ad Delphos ut de parentibus suis sciret. In trivio obviam veniens patri vero Laio, regi Thebano, Oedipus eum occidit et inscius Iocasten matrem suam accepit uxorem, ex qua procreavit Eteocles et Polynicen, Antigonam et Ismenen. Interim Oedipus conatus est liberare urbem pestilentia Thebis incidente. Tiresias interrogatus qua de causa Thebae ita vexarentur dixit necesse esse ex urbe expellare eum qui Laium necavit. Veritate cognita, Iocaste se morti dedit. Oedipus autem sibi oculos eripuit. Postea Oedipus in exilium ex urbe expulsus est.

  Medea (Euripidis, paulo elaborata a Hygino, ab Ambrosio mutata)

  Aeetae Medea et Idyiae filia cum ex Iasone iam filios Mermerum et Pheretem procreasset summaque concordia viverent, obiciebatur Iasoni hominem tam fortem ac formosum ac nobilem uxorem advenam atque veneficam habere. Huic Creon Menoecii filius rex Corinthius filiam suam minorem Glaucen dedit uxorem. Medea cum vidit se erga Iasonem bene merentem tanta contumelia esse affectam, coronam ex venenis fecit auream eamque muneri filios suos iussit novercae dare. Munere accepto, Glauce et eam bracchiis amplectans pater ipse combusti sunt. Interim Medea necavit filiolos suos et in curru avi sui Solis fugit Athenas, rege Aegeo exspectante.

  Other tragedies with English summaries; schools would email their selection on a first-come-first-served basis. All summaries should be read by the students to help them better enjoy the show : Agamemnon, Antigone, Oedipus Rex, Ajax, Prometheus Bound, Medea (alread snagged by Essex!), Hippolytus, Hecuba, Trojan Women, The Women of Thrace, Iphigenia at Aulis, Iphigenia Among the Taurians, The Children of Herakles, Philoctetes, Oedipus at Colonus. [Harwood Union has also reserved a play, but I have forgotten which.] Other plays???

• 3. Schedule (basically as last year's): HORARIUM ET AGENDA (The occasional page references found below are from the packet sent out last year.)
  
  9:00-9:20
  ASSEMBLE in Patrick Gym.
  BRIEFING of the "Microphone Masters" of each delegation with Prof. Z. Philip Ambrose to learn how to use the stage sound equipment for the skits.
  REGISTRATION at the Registration Desk
  SET UP EXHIBITS on the tables in Patrick Gym
  9:20-45 OPENING CEREMONIES including introduction of each delegation. When called upon, each delegation will stand, saying HIC SUMUS, and remain standing long enough to be judged for its COSTUMES (HABITUS). As in previous years, there will be a prize for the best costumes.
  
  Magister: Salvete sodales omnes!
  Omnes: Salve, magister!
  Magister: Benigne accipimus vos omnes, discipuli discipulaeque,
  magistri magistraeque, sed primum volo me certum facere unde sitis. Ex ordine
  literarum vos petam et salutabo: Delegatio "a" ubi estis?
  Omnis quaeque delegatio, in pedes surgens et habitus suas iudicibus monstrans: Hic sumus.
  
  Magister: Nobis valde placet quod vos his in ludis fabulas ex tragoediis graecis \ excerptas monstrare vultis. Sed nunc volo introducere collegam meum, {TBA},
  qui/quae vos amice salutare in nomine Universitatis Viridis Montis vult.
  Omnes: Salve!
  Amicus/a: (brief welcome)
  Omnes: Gratias tibi agimus!
  
  9:45-55 SPECIAL AWARDS: Largest Delegation, Highest per capita Enrollment, School Traveling the Farthest, CANE Writing Contest Vermont Winners, Vermont Latin Sight Translations Test Winners, Largest Increase in Latin Enrollment, First Attendance at Latin Day
  9:55-10:00 STAND and SING Gaudeamus igitur (text and music p. 12)
  10:00-30MAXI-PROBATIO for JUNIOR and SENIOR TEAMS in the Gymnastics Room (see Probatio Particulars).
  10:00-10:15 MINI-PROBATIO: The Spectatores remain in the stands for a short viva voce Probatio, while the teams are participating in the Maxi-Probatio. !!! NOTE !!! Some improvements have been introduced this year to the format of the Mini-Probatio. Please see special instructions below.
  10:15-10:30 VIEWING THE DISPLAYS: The Spectatores will have time for a short viewing of the Displays both at this time and after the Skits.
  10:30-11:45 SKITS on Greek Tragedy from a Roman Perspective
  11:45-12:00 7th INNING STRETCH / DISPLAY VIEWING
  12:00-12:05 RETURN TO SEATS
  12:05-12:10 STAND AND SING Ecce Caesar (text p. 13)
  12:10-25 AWARDS for the Silver Bowls (for a combination of Displays, Maxi-Probatio Juniorum, and Skits) and Senior Probatio Plaque and Ribbons for the Skits and a Special Award for D.O.T. (Delegatio Optime Togata, i.e., BEST COSTUMES), then EXEUNT OMNES
  
  !!! Special Instructions for the Mini-Probatio (10:00-10:15) !!!
  
  This year, with a view to imposing some order onto chaos, the Mini-Probatio will be run as follows. Instead of receiving answers by spontaneous acclamation from the crowd of Spectatores, the Magister will ask a series of questions. 15 seconds per question will be allotted for schools to "huddle" together and write down the answer on an answer sheet. (These sheets will be provided to each school in the Teacher's packet.) After all the questions have been asked, and answers have been committed to paper, the Magister will summon to the stage a Praeco, or herald, previously appointed by his or her school, who will be prepared to give the school's answer when called upon by the Magister. Though every school will be given the opportunity to answer a question, it will not know in advance which of the questions it will be called upon to answer. To determine this, the Magister or his assistant will randomly draw the name of a school from a hat, and the Praeco for the school that is selected will come to the microphone and declare his/her school's response. If the answer is correct, loud cheers, horns, whistles, and sportulae of chocolate kisses will be showered upon the successful contingent. If incorrect, the Magister will solicit the audience for the correct answer and proceed immediately to the next question, drawing a new school name out of the hat. This procedure will continue until all the questions have been answered.
  
  If a school answers its Mini-Probatio question correctly, 5 points will be added to its total score (used to determine winners of the large and small bowls). A school's written answers to the other questions will also be graded and 5 additional points will be added for having at least 10 correct answers. SCHOOLS WILL LOSE POINTS, however, FOR UNRULY BEHAVIOR during the Mini-Probatio‹up to 10 points deducted from the school's total score. Unruly behavior includes shouting an answer out of turn, infiltrating another school's huddle to steal an answer, or being noisy while the Magister is speaking at the podium. Student Marshals and the Magister himself will monitor the crowd for such behavior, and a red penalty flag will be thrown at any offending school. However, loud acclamations or complaints are encouraged in immediate response to correct or incorrect answers (Nunc est . . . pulsanda tellus!), but students need to pay attention: the Magister will signal for silence after a short interval of such celebration or complaint, and extraneous noise thereafter will be subject to demerits.
  
  To reiterate: schools will LOSE points for loud or unruly behavior out of turn. Only 15 minutes is allotted to the entire Mini-Probatio, so orderly cooperation is the key. The model here is the relatively calm atmosphere of Jeopardy, not the mayhem of The Price Is Right. Also note that this new format requires each school to appoint a Praeco from its ranks in advance of Latin Day. Please indicate the name of your Praeco on the registration sheet.
  
  
• 4. Group Project: Singing GAUDEAMUS IGITUR and the Vermont addendum to the Carmen Saeculare. Or a new text like the Triumphs of Caesar to the tune of O Clementine?
  Caesar's Triumph
  
  Ecce Caesar nunc tiumphat qui subegit Galliam,
  Civiumque multitudo celebrat victoriam.
  
  Gaius Iulius Caesar noster, imperator, pontifex,
  Primum praetor, deinde consul, nunc dictator, moxque rex.
  
  En victores procedentes, laeti floribus novis,
  Magna praeda sunt potiti et captivis plurimis.
  
  Exsultantes magna voce Io triumphe! concinunt,
  Dum auratum ante currum victas urbes praeferunt.
  
  Legiones viam sacram totam complent strepitu,
  Capitolinumque collem scandit Caesar in curru.
  
  O sol pulcher, o laudande! Caesarem recepimus,
  Et corona triumphali honoratum vidimus.
  
  
• 5. Other Matters:
  A. Robert Rodgers wonders what interest there might be for some "mini seminars" (like his VCLA presentation with Juvenal). Cliff Timpson in particular would like to do something and we might be able to plan something for late spring. The idea is to read a text and then "disassemble" it to fit into the standards-based learning plan. Cliff said almost anything would be interesting for him; others might want to suggest specific texts related to their own existing curricula.
  B. The Vermont Latin Translation Exam, generously sponsored by Professors Robert Rodgers and Barbara Saylor Rodgers, is open to all Vermont students of Latin from public or private schools. The Contest pays cash prizes for sight translation of Latin texts at two levels: the Junior Level, for students with one or two years of Latin, and the Senior Level, for students with three or four years of Latin. 1st, 2nd, and 3rd prizes may be awarded at each Level, of $100, $75, and $50 respectively. Teachers should let the Rodgers know by mid-January if anyone in their school is interested in taking these exams. Packets with texts and instructions will be sent out to participating schools by February 1st. Exams are to be completed and returned by the first week in March. Winners will be honored at Latin Day on April 2nd.