Students are placed in a Latin class depending on the appropriate level for the student.
Latin I
The goal of Latin I is to equip students with a functional knowledge of the rudiments of Latin. No prior knowledge of the subject material is assumed. Students move through Latin for the New Millennium Level 1, studying and comprehending nouns and verb forms as they begin to fit them together into cohesive sentences. The course takes a systematic and highly structured approach to the mastery of Latin forms and grammar. As students consider the grammatical workings of Latin, they also begin to consider the principles of Latin syntax (as compared to English). Students are memorizing and drilling vocabulary and basic forms and paradigms on a daily basis in Latin I and II. Assignments will help them master Latin forms and syntax through translation (both from and into Latin). Frequent quizzes help lead to and assess mastery of key vocabulary, forms, and ability with syntax. Students work consistently on pronunciation and oral delivery of Latin forms and content. The curriculum develops a rich sense of the historical and cultural contexts in which the Latin language and its uses flourished.
Latin II
(Prerequisite: Latin I or determined eligibility)
Latin II continues the work of Latin I, with solid review at the beginning of the year of key grammar. The course uses Latin for the New Millennium, Level 2. While mastering new forms and reviewing old ones, we will shift our focus increasingly to Latin syntax. By year’s end, we have begun to read more complex passages from the text, with the expectation that the basics of Latin grammar and syntax have become a body of working knowledge for the students.
Latin III
(Prerequisite: Latin II or determined eligibility)
This course represents an intermediate to advanced Latin grammar and syntax course, and when taken in sequence with Latin 1 and 2, the completion of this course represents the completion of two years of high school level Latin (one year of college level Latin. After some review at the year’s beginning, students work through Henle Latin: Second Year as they are introduced to the final building blocks of Latin syntax, including more advanced work with the subjunctive mood and other forms of the Latin verb system and complex sentences. The units of this textbook are organized to work with adapted and original selections from Caesar’s work, and students are building a vocabulary primarily aimed at reading proficiency of Caesar.
Latin IV
(Prerequisite: Latin III or determined eligibility)
This course is primarily a reading course for Latin students who have completed their study of the Latin grammar typically covered in Latin 1-3 (in some sequences, this would be comparable to two full years of high school Latin). The course focuses on the mastery of advanced grammar and syntax and reading proficiency across varied styles and genres of Latin literature. Readings include selections from prose authors (Pliny, Cicero, etc.) and poetry (Catullus, Vergil, Ovid, Horace etc.). Grammar and syntax are reviewed throughout the year as needed. A special emphasis in the course is on developing a wider reading vocabulary. Students are expected to master all required vocabulary so that translation can be accomplished efficiently, and, therefore, with greater enjoyment. Students begin to pay closer attention to the forms of Latin poetry and to stylistic features of Latin syntax.
AP® Latin
(Prerequisite: Latin IV or determined eligibility, not sooner than 10th grade)
The following content is adapted from the College Board’s course description for AP Latin:
AP Latin is designed to provide advanced high school students with a rich and rigorous Latin course, approximately equivalent to an upper to intermediate (typically fourth or fifth semester) college or university Latin course. Students who successfully complete the course are able to read, understand, translate, and analyze Latin poetry and prose. AP Latin students prepare and translate the required Latin readings with an accuracy that reflects precise understanding of the Latin in all its details; they also read and comprehend passages at sight, even if not with full understanding of every detail. These two types of study powerfully reinforce each other. The course thus allows time for regular, sustained, and integrated practice at sight reading.
Throughout the course, students develop their language skills through various activities: precise, literal translation of prepared poetry and prose; reading with comprehension of sight passages, both poetry and prose; and written analyses that demonstrate the results of critical reading in clear and coherent arguments supported by textual examples. Another important aspect of reading Latin lies in the mastery of the many terms that have been devised by scholars and teachers over the years to describe and analyze Latin grammar, syntax, and literary style. Linguistic competence, important as it is, does not exhaust the goals of studying Latin. The Latin language is also the best route to learning about the history, literature, and culture of the ancient Romans. With this in mind, texts have been chosen that will allow students to encounter some of the important people, events, and literary genres of Roman times, focusing on the core periods of the late Republic and the early Principate. Vergil’s Aeneid, arguably the most influential work of Latin literature, is both a model of Latin poetic style and a profound meditation on the meaning of Roman history and civilization. Caesar’s Gallic War, for generations a standard school text, is still rightly admired both for its pure and straightforward Latinity and for its historical interest, as it engages with controversial issues of war and peace, empire, ethnicity, leadership, and the roles and purposes of historiography. English readings from Vergil’s Aeneid and Caesar’s Gallic War are also included in the required syllabus in order to put the Latin excerpts in a significant context. The course exposes students to and develops skills characteristic of the methods of classical philology, with its rigorous attention to linguistic detail coupled with critical interpretation and analysis.