Monday, October 24, 2016

Texas Foreign Language Association 2016

The Latin for the New Millennium banner
beckons teachers to the B-C booth
Allan Bolchazy, Bolchazy-Carducci vice president, represented the company at the 2016 Texas Foreign Language Association (TFLA) Conference, held October 13–15, 2016, in Austin, TX, at the Renaissance Hotel. Phil Neill and Joni Dodson, B-C’s sales representatives for the state of Texas (with its 1,100 school districts!), assisted Allan in staffing the B-C booth.

Thursday evening saw publishers give presentations on their programs and texts. This is unusual for the conference, but since Texas is conducting a textbook adoption, they decided the publisher presentations would be desirable. Allan gave a presentation that provided attendees an overview of Latin for the New Millennium and its three levels and an overview of the company’s Caesar and Vergil texts designed for the AP Latin curriculum.

The exhibit hall was open all day Friday, and Saturday morning. Visitors to the B-C booth demonstrated great interest in our books. In addition to Latin teacher visitors, a Slovak gentleman, who remembered the late B-C founder Ladislaus "Lou" Bolchazy and his Slovak books, visited the booth. A number of other teachers and department chairs came by seeking information for their Latin teacher colleagues.

We had a great time talking with friends, customers, and all attendees. Were you unable to make the conference and still have questions? Did you attend and would you like to share a part of your experience? Feel free to comment or ask questions below. I'd love to hear from you!

-Connor

Tuesday, October 18, 2016

Illinois Classical Conference 2016 Report

The Illinois Classical Conference met October 7–9 at Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, IL.  Assistant editor Laurel Draper represented Bolchazy-Carducci over the weekend. Chris Mural, the Latin teacher at Stevenson, was the local host and the organizer of the book exhibit. The ICC used book exchange, which raises money for scholarships, was also in the book exhibit.

One of the highlights of the weekend was Saturday’s luncheon. The luncheon was co-hosted with the Chicago Classical Club and featured a talk from Daniel Garrison (Northwestern University) on Latin as a modern language. Peter Burian (Duke University) gave the keynote address, titled “The Stronger Sex: Athenian Democracy and the Case of Lysistrata.” Matthew Sparapani, last year’s Teacher of the Year, spoke on the importance of community within the Latin classroom and within the classics profession.

Another highlight from the weekend was the awards ceremony. Chris Mural received the Teacher of the Year award. Marilyn Brusherd, a longtime member of ICC, the organizer of the book exchange, and a perennial volunteer at classics events for high school students, received the Lifetime Achievement Award.

Overall we had a great time talking with friends, customers, and all attendees. Were you unable to make the conference and still have questions? Did you attend and would you like to share a part of your experience? Feel free to comment or ask questions below. I'd love to hear from you!

-Connor

Tuesday, October 04, 2016

September Answer for Roman Calendar

The 2016–2017 Roman Calendar offers full-color images for each month featuring a chapter title page from Latin for the New Millennium, Levels 1 and 2, Second Edition, alongside the ever-popular sententiae. The calendar also contains information about our latest books, longtime favorites, apps, and more. Check the inside back cover for a reproducible worksheet that asks students to engage with the artwork included in the calendar.

For those completing the worksheet, here is September's image, question, and answer.

Question:
Ōdī et amō. Catullus wrote these contradictory words to express his conflicted and painful feelings about his beloved in Catullus 85. What English words can you find that derive from these three?

Answer: 
Ōdī, from the fourth conjugation verb odīre meaning "to hate," has given such words as "odious," "odium," and "ennui" to the English language. The conjunction et has provided "etc." (et cetera, "and the rest") and the ampersand (&). A, from the first conjugation verb amāre  meaning "to love," yields such words as "amatory," "amorous," "enamor," and "paramour."

To add your name to our mailing list for the 2017–2018 Roman Calendar, email orders@bolchazy.com with the subject line “Roman Calendar”; be sure to include your name and mailing address in the body of the email. Also, let us know by email if you have not received your calendar yet!

Think your students know the answer to the October question on the worksheet? Tweet @BCPublishers the answer by October 25th for a chance to win five of our new buttons. We'll announce our answers, as well as the winner, at the beginning of November. Submit an answer for your class, or better yet, encourage students to participate individually.