Friday, September 15, 2017

2016-2017 Year in Review



Bolchazy-Carducci: A Year in Review


Mox nox! As the autumnal equinox approaches and the sun sets earlier each day, we are looking back at the past year and ahead to the year to come. The past twelve months have been full of new books, conferences, and contests—and, of course, birthday cakes!

A Fond Farewell. The Bolchazy-Carducci family bids a fond farewell to Connor Hart as he returns to Massachusetts and pursues further studies. Connor joined B-C following his graduation from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst where he studied classics and English. After a year as an intern, Connor joined the staff as social media and editorial assistant. Connor has done terrific work developing B-C’s social media—writing blogs, creating Martia Dementia, assembling the Roman Calendar and its quiz components, posting on Facebook, and tweeting.

Level one of the second edition of Milena Minkova
and Terence Tunberg's Latin for the New Millennium.
New Books. It’s been a busy year at B-C! The second edition of Latin for the New Millennium, Levels 1 and 2, features a richer focus on English derivatives study as well as additional exercises based on teacher suggestions. The LNM Teachers’ Lounge offers printable versions of the new content for first edition users. Word Mastery through Derivatives: Designed for Students of Latin provides students the skills and practice to apply word-building analysis to their study of both Latin vocabulary and English derivatives. A Latin Picture Dictionary for Everyone asks the learner to make a ready connection between an image and its corresponding Latin word, with illustrated exercises that provide an opportunity for students to internalize the Latin vocabulary. Plotinus on Beauty and Reality: A Reader for Enneads I.6 and V.1 makes accessible to intermediate Greek students two treatises that describe the Neoplatonic cosmos of Plotinus. A new edition of Medieval Mosaic features seven new passages as well as 41 new illustrations. The Festschrift Ab omni parte beatus: Classical Essays in Honor of James M. May celebrates James M. May, Professor of Classics at Saint Olaf College, on the occasion of his retirement.

Richard LaFleur, a.k.a. Doctor Illa Flora
autographs Ubi Fera Sunt.
Conferences. Bolchazy-Carducci staff and other representatives exhibited and met with teachers and students across the United States and in Canada this past year. Look for us at upcoming conferences! Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire hosted the Illinois Classical Conference’s October meeting. The meetings of the Texas Foreign Language Association (Austin, TX), Classical Association of the Atlantic States (New Brunswick, NJ), Classical Association of the Middle West and South Southern Section (Decatur, GA), Classical Association of the Empire State (Schenectady, NY), and Texas Classical Association (Waco, TX) followed soon after. The fall conference season concluded with the meeting of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (Boston, MA) and the Virginia Junior Classical League Convention (Richmond, VA). The 2017 conference season began with the Archaeological Institute of America and Society for Classical Studies Joint Annual Meeting (Toronto, ON), followed by meetings of the Classical Association of New England (Exeter, NH), the International Congress on Medieval Studies (Kalamazoo, MI), the American Classical League (Grand Rapids, MI), and the National Junior Classical League Convention (Troy, AL).


Contests. Many of our conferences featured fishbowl drawings. Winners took home book bundles that included some of our brand new titles from the past year. The second annual Dolus aut Dulce? Halloween costume contest allowed teachers, students, and entire classrooms from around the world to show off their classics-inspired creativity and featured deities, demigods, Hannibal, and Medusa. Our third annual Martia Dementia contest pitted deities against mortals, and in the final round Caesar triumphed over Zeus with a 431–54 victory.  Thomas Howard of St. Ignatius College Prep-Chicago, IL, took home the glory and spoils with the winning bracket. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook so that you never miss out on a chance to win B-C prizes.

Founder’s Day. On July 21, the B-C staff and old colleagues assembled for a special lunch to celebrate our late founder Dr. Ladislaus “Lou,” a.k.a. “Laci” or “Lacko,” J. Bolchazy. The celebration concluded with a trivia contest about Dr. Lou and his beloved B-C. Marie Bolchazy, president, and Allan Bolchazy, vice president, served as judges for the contest. Editor Don Sprague, Mike Frazier from shipping, and Jody Cull, production and eLearning manager, emerged trivia triumphant.

Looking Ahead. The 2017–2018 year offers new opportunities for students and teachers to enter our Dolus aut Dulce? and Martia Dementia contests and to sign up for fishbowl drawings for a chance to win a book bundle at upcoming conferences. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and our blog for the latest updates on new books, conferences, contests, and more.