Donations to the "Upside Down Book Fair" were near an all-time high, with over 1,500 books collected. These books are being given to students through Latin's partnerships with Asian Youth Services, McCutcheon School, Cradles to Crayons and Open Books. This was an amazing outpouring from the Latin community to help get books to those who might not receive them otherwise.

Check out the photos!

In this Romans, Friends & Countrymen short, Erin Amico Wegscheider '01 shares a lesson she learned at Latin that she uses every day and the best piece of advice she's ever received.

Dr. Gabrielle Roberts is a licensed clinical psychologist who specializes in working with children, adolescents and young adults at Advocate Children's Hospital in Oak Lawn. Previously, she worked in residential treatment and in the child welfare system with youth who had experienced extreme trauma. She is also the parent of a lower school student at Latin. 

TRANSCRIPT

How can parents encourage children to talk to them about their emotions surrounding school and COVID-19?

First and foremost, check in with your children. If you know your child is already anxious, then I would say check in more frequently. If not, I would say check in from time to time. Ask open ended questions. How are you feeling about the coronavirus? How are you feeling about going to back to school? Listen. That’s most important. Validate their emotions. Let them know that you hear what they’re saying and that you understand it’s important to them. Be careful not to minimize their feelings. As adults, we have the beautiful wisdom of knowing that something your child feels is the end of the world or will forever alter their life is not really the case, but you can honor and validate that’s how they feel right now. Remind them that they can talk to you anytime about anything and that you’re here for them.

How important is it for parents to model the calm behavior asked of their students?

Very… as we're all going through this together. If you want a silver lining for this situation, which you may not, the situation is actually an excellent opportunity to teach your child coping skills. And these are skills that they're going to need for life beyond coronavirus. You can talk to your children about how you cope with stress and model that behavior, but we aren't perfect. We will make mistakes and modeling how we recover when we've failed to cope. How we problem solve when we're visibly anxious and not managing it well is really also an excellent modeling opportunity. So it's a win-win here.

Some students might experience separation anxiety from friends since they might be placed in different cohorts. How can a parent help with that change?

Again, start by listening, validating those feelings. Don't minimize those feelings. It is a big deal, even if, down the line, you know they'll be okay. It feels like a really big deal, especially when it comes to older children and teens, it's a big deal. The same goes for children who are maybe going to be remote and their peers are going to be in school, so help your child problem solve this. I know our children spend a lot of time on screens these days, but that social media connection, especially those apps that enable our children and teens to connect in real time, face-to-face has been really valuable right now for socialization and connection.

Every time I say this, I stutter because I'm usually so anti screen, but I've been promoting this because I think it's really helpful right now when it comes to that face-to-face connection. Also, remind your children and this isn't forever. That's something I find myself saying to myself and also to my daughter a lot. I tell her, “I cannot tell you when this is going to end, but I can promise you it will end.” And that's an important bottom line.

If a classmate contracts COVID-19, how should a parent explain it to their child? 

There's not one right answer. But as a general rule, I would start with a less is more approach. So in general, as adults, we tend to give more information than children are usually asking for. And so I would start by keeping it short and simple. Explain what happened and focus on the positive of the situation if you can.

“...David has COVID and is at home where his mom and dad are taking good care of him.” Depending upon the situation, how worried your child is, and is the child at home really sick, or are they hopefully at home and asymptomatic and just hanging out...? If it's the latter case, maybe arranging an opportunity for your child to virtually connect with that child would be a way to help reduce your child's worry. It also might be nice for the child who's stuck at home and disconnected from people too and maybe scared as well. 

How do you know when your child should talk to a professional about their anxiety? 

First of all, when in doubt, please consult a professional. I, as a professional, tell parents all the time to bring their child for a checkup. We get physical checkups every year, but we don't get mental health checkups every year. And obviously, I'm biased, but I think that's really important. And so I never mind when a parent schedules an appointment just to make sure their child is okay. That's wonderful. And I love telling parents, “Your child is doing great. Call me if you need something.” When your child's anxiety is persistent, they're having a lot of difficulties coping and that anxiety is interfering with their life, their school, home happiness, it's a good time to call a professional.

If a student is experiencing anxiety in the classroom or hallway, what coping skills could they try?

It's good for all children to have some coping skills that they already know and can use if needed. So I would say, first and foremost, these are things to practice beforehand. It's really hard to learn a new skill in the moment when we're really anxious. It's most helpful if children have a toolbox of different skills they can use because what works for me may not work for you. And what works for me on Tuesday might not work for me on Wednesday. So it's good to have a lot of options. Different children will do better with different skills. Some that might be helpful in the classroom or hallway includes knowing that they can go and talk to a teacher and ask for what they need. Do they need space? Do they need support? Knowing who else they can go talk to or ask for–who are the identified people, a counselor, a nurse, maybe there's a certain person in the school who they feel particularly comfortable with.

Deep breathing or belly breathing, it's really easy to learn. It's a really simple distraction. 

They can acknowledge that they're having this thought, but pull that thought away and focus on what’s safe around them and what they can do to be safe. So using self-talk to say, “Okay, I'm feeling worried, but let me go through my mental checklist. I'm wearing my mask. I just washed my hands. We're keeping our space. So I think I'm safe.” It's helpful to have a worry plan in advance. 

Parents are wearing so many different hats, parent/teacher, employee, child therapist, how can a guardian manage their own wellbeing while helping make sure their child's emotional needs are met? 

It is insanity for most of us, if not all of us. Professional me and mom me are definitely two separate entities. And while professional me can sit here and tell you all of these things and make them sound good. Mom me is freaking out all the time, bursting into tears with my friends on the phone, hyperventilating inside. I call my friends who are therapists often and let them talk me down. I say this because I think just exercising self-compassion and recognizing how difficult this is on all of us is just one of the most important things. Like our children, we need good sleep, good diet, exercise, fresh air. We can't sacrifice ourselves for them. We need all of those things too. And the better we take care of ourselves, we're better for them. Exercise the same compassion to yourself that you offer to your children. You're going to have good days and bad days, and try not to beat yourself up. We, especially moms, are so programmed to beat ourselves up. It doesn't help and we don't deserve it. We're all just doing our best.

What resources are out there?

If you go to PBS.org/parents, there's some good information on there, mostly for younger kids, but really I think the tips can be applied broadly as well. They have a section in there just on COVID and going back to school. The American Psychological Association, APA.org, has a lot of good information right now, too. There's a lot of good self-help workbooks for children and teens out there. A couple that I'll mention for children, there's one called “The Worry Workbook for Kids” by Deborah Ledley and Muniya Khanna. There's one out there called “Anxiety Relief for Teens” by Regine Galanti. These are just books that have exercises that your teen or child can do or you can do with them to help teach coping skills for anxiety. Also, reaching out to the school counselor is an excellent, excellent idea and a wonderful resource. They can help support your child in school and connect you with outside resources.

When Linda Cohn '69 was shown a picture of a Latin School of Chicago sign for sale on eBay, she thought it looked very familiar. This wasn't just any sign, this was the sign that greeted Linda and her classmates each day as they entered 59 E. Scott Street, Latin's home for upper and middle school from the mid-50s - 1969. Linda's class, the Class of 1969, was the last class to graduate from the Scott Street building; seeing the sign again felt like finding a long lost old friend. And finding the sign on the heels of her class' 50th reunion seemed like more than a coincidence. Perhaps it was time for sign to return home?

Linda decided to reach out to class rep Ron Pen '69 and a plan soon formed. Linda and Ron contacted their classmates asking who would be interested in helping to purchase the sign so it could be donated to Latin. Riding high on a wave of nostalgia following their 50th reunion, classmates eagerly and generously pitched in.

This summer, the Latin School of Chicago sign made its way to the current upper school at North and Clark. While a permanent spot and plaque are in the works, the sign temporarily hangs in the Alumni Office, where it will greet alumni visiting the school and inspire conversation with students when we can once again welcome visitors. Thanks, Class of 1969. And welcome home, old friend.

Donations to the "Upside Down Book Fair" were near an all-time high, with over 1,500 books collected. These books are being given to students through Latin's partnerships with Asian Youth Services, McCutcheon School, Cradles to Crayons and Open Books. This was an amazing outpouring from the Latin community to help get books to those who might not receive them otherwise.

Check out the photos!

Despite the fall athletic season looking very different this year, many of the athletes were able to safely compete in their sports. View a video created by Latin's Athletic Department that was played at the virtual fall sports banquet and take a look at their individual and team accomplishments below.

Boys and Girls Cross Country
ISL: Boys First Place; Girls First Place
Regional: Boys First Place; Girls First Place
Sectional: Boys Third Place; Girls Second Place
The upper school cross country teams were the best teams in Latin's long strong history of producing excellent teams. The girls were ranked number one in the state for most of the season and the boys as high as fifth. At the conference meet, Latin swept all four JV and varsity races with the girls varsity team earning a historic perfect score!

JV Boys Golf
Overall Record: 4-3
Highlights from the JV boys golf season included a barnburner win against De La Salle Institute at Jackson Park Golf Course and a rowdy team scramble to finish up the season at Sydney Marovitz Golf Course.

Varsity Boys Golf
ISL: Third Place
Regional: First Place
Sectional: Third Place
In a year unlike any other, the Latin boys varsity golf team displayed grit, enthusiasm, optimism and zest in a time that did not always present the environment to do so. In a "normal" year, the boys' would have qualified for the IHSA 1A State Tournament, something to hang their hats on and their chins held high. A special thank you to all of the seniors who, in too many ways to list, were the building blocks to this program in recent years.

Varsity Girls Golf
Overall Record: 9-1
ISL: First Place
Regional: First Place
Sectional: Third Place
The team was 9-1 in dual matches this season with their only loss being to a really talented Fenwick squad. The girls won a dual match against Loyola Academy on their home course and also on their Senior Day. Though they qualified for the State Finals, the final round of competition was not held. 

Girls Swimming
Overall Record: 5-3
Sectional: Fifth Place
Placing in the top 12 individually at Sectionals and scoring points for Latin included: 
Elena S.- 9th in the 200 free, 5th in the 500 free 
Zoe S.- 9th in the 100 fly, 10th in the 50 free 
Alexa S.- 7th in the 200 IM, 5th in the 100 back
Ashley R.- 6th in the 200 IM, 2nd in the 100 breast
Elro S.- 8th in the 50 free, 10th in the 100 fly 
Katie C.- 10th in the 200 free, 12th in the 500 free 

JV Girls Tennis
Overall Record: 9-2   
The Romans became closer as a team, worked hard, and overcame difficult opponents such as Walter Payton and Lane Tech. The coaches were so proud of what they all accomplished this season and are looking forward to the next season.

Varsity Girls Tennis
Overall Record: 14-1
ISL: First Place
Sectional: First Place
Sectionals was a repeat of history for Latin's first and second doubles teams to face off in the finals. This isn’t always the best-case scenario but it is pretty impressive and shows the hard work they had put into the season. The coaches were proud of the resilience and adaptability of the players to have a successful season.

Sailing
State Championship Regatta: Fourth Place
Chicago Yacht Club Team: First Place
The sailing team had a wonderful season, especially with summer-like temperatures in November. The regattas were few due to restricted inter-state travel and limits on clubs hosting outside teams during the pandemic, but Latin endured and the eight varsity and two JV sailors practiced three times per week. This paid off at the November 7-8 State Shepard's Championship Regatta with Latin placing fourth out of 15! Though falling short to Lake Forest High School,  U of C Lab School and Loyola Academy, Latin defeated local rivals St. Ignatius, New Trier and Walter Payton, as well as Jones and Whitney Young.

Athletics
 

Every election brings opportunity to engage in the democratic process and hope for positive change.
- Head of School Randall DunnA historic election year brings a multitude of opportunities for learning about government and the political system. Not only is it important to learn about this history, but it’s also necessary to prepare students and teachers for every discussion that engages individuals with different opinions, lived experiences, perspectives and identities.

Listen to Upper School History Teacher and History Department Chair Cara Gallagher share what civil discourse is and why it is important.

Latin’s youngest Romans spent the week learning about each candidate running for Lower School Lovie: Bun Rabbit, Narny Narwhal and Volex Vulture who are all running on a platform of nutrition, environment and self-care. The lower school polling booths were opened to JK-first grade students to place their votes. And the winner… Narny Narwahl! 

In fourth grade, students discussed broad topics including, the history of political parties, branches of government, checks and balances as well as political campaigns. Students were tasked with creating their own campaign posters displaying issues that are important to them. Check them out!
 

Fifth and sixth grade students participated in The Great Dessert Election of 2020 as a way to experience voter registration, recruiting candidates, primaries, nomination, a general election and the electoral college. The students registered to vote and through their homeroom either joined the Cake Party or the Cookie Party to suggest candidates. Once that was done, the students had primaries for each party, where candidates had the opportunity to create a campaign video. Winning both the electoral and popular votes… the Cake Party’s Ice Cream Cake!
 

Editors of the upper school’s new, digital political magazine, Discourses, created a video message about why voting is important and shared what they are doing to get politically involved in the 2020 election. 
 

Developing leading approaches to advancing dialogue, civil discourse and inquiry-based discussion across the curriculum is part of Latin’s Strategic Design and it is urgent work.

“Every election brings opportunity to engage in the democratic process and hope for positive change. Regardless of the outcome, Latin needs to be a place where the skills to engage in the toughest of conversations with mutual respect and true understanding are taught, modeled and encouraged. As a diverse and inclusive community of learners, we should expect no less.” –Head of School Randall Dunn, an excerpt from a letter to the Latin community on October 29, 2020

Academics
 

From October 26 - November 4, the Middle School Kids Supporting Kids Club collected non-perishable foods, including canned beans, canned fruit, canned vegetables, peanut butter, canned soup, etc. They donated over 600 pounds of canned goods to the Greater Chicago Food Depository, which resulted in 748 meals.

Also as part of this year's canned food drive, the Upper School Student Service Learning Board collected over $2,800 for the Greater Chicago Food Depository, which provided nearly 8,400 meals. They significantly surpassed their goal of $300 (or 900 meals) by 294%!

Student Life

Every election brings opportunity to engage in the democratic process and hope for positive change.
- Head of School Randall DunnA historic election year brings a multitude of opportunities for learning about government and the political system. Not only is it important to learn about this history, but it’s also necessary to prepare students and teachers for every discussion that engages individuals with different opinions, lived experiences, perspectives and identities.

Listen to Upper School History Teacher and History Department Chair Cara Gallagher share what civil discourse is and why it is important.

Latin’s youngest Romans spent the week learning about each candidate running for Lower School Lovie: Bun Rabbit, Narny Narwhal and Volex Vulture who are all running on a platform of nutrition, environment and self-care. The lower school polling booths were opened to JK-first grade students to place their votes. And the winner… Narny Narwahl! 

In fourth grade, students discussed broad topics including, the history of political parties, branches of government, checks and balances as well as political campaigns. Students were tasked with creating their own campaign posters displaying issues that are important to them. Check them out!
 

Fifth and sixth grade students participated in The Great Dessert Election of 2020 as a way to experience voter registration, recruiting candidates, primaries, nomination, a general election and the electoral college. The students registered to vote and through their homeroom either joined the Cake Party or the Cookie Party to suggest candidates. Once that was done, the students had primaries for each party, where candidates had the opportunity to create a campaign video. Winning both the electoral and popular votes… the Cake Party’s Ice Cream Cake!
 

Editors of the upper school’s new, digital political magazine, Discourses, created a video message about why voting is important and shared what they are doing to get politically involved in the 2020 election. 
 

Developing leading approaches to advancing dialogue, civil discourse and inquiry-based discussion across the curriculum is part of Latin’s Strategic Design and it is urgent work.

“Every election brings opportunity to engage in the democratic process and hope for positive change. Regardless of the outcome, Latin needs to be a place where the skills to engage in the toughest of conversations with mutual respect and true understanding are taught, modeled and encouraged. As a diverse and inclusive community of learners, we should expect no less.” –Head of School Randall Dunn, an excerpt from a letter to the Latin community on October 29, 2020

Academics
 

Upper school students transformed the fall play into a virtual, interactive experience, complete with an engaging website and a cutting-edge Zoom performance. Twenty-one students presented "Lucy Westenra is Not (and Will Never Be) a Vampire" from 20 different locations on October 28-30, 2020. The play, written by Latin alum and current lower school assistant teacher, Marjorie Muller '13," is based on Bram Stoker's classic novel "Dracula."

The production of presenting the virtual performance took careful planning and technological skill. Each student used a green screen (coupled with a chroma-key green virtual background) on Zoom. Back at Latin, a "mission control" center utilized brand new technology that was developed during the pandemic to route the live feeds of the actors on Zoom and make them appear in the custom configurations on screen. First, ZoomOSC software allowed "mission control" to see the location of each actor on the Zoom feed (top left, center right, bottom middle, etc.). Then software from Troikatronix called Isadora merged the performers onto shared backgrounds to make them appear like they were in the same location, plus it layered in video and audio effects. 

Students developed problem-solving, creative-thinking and technology-building skills, which they will use to revamp theatrical performance experiences for years to come.

Working alongside upper school technical theater teacher Thad Hallstein, the show's student stage manager, Natalie R. '22, called out all of the screen configuration changes and audio and effects cues. This included giving the actors their cues in the Zoom chat as well as communicating with the actors in a separate group text chat for other directions. The student computer control operator, Elliot K. '22, then executed the cues in the performance software. He also served as an emergency understudy to step in front of a green screen set up at Latin should an actor's WIFI drop out or they lose connection with them on Zoom. Shane Enderle, a member of Latin's IT team, monitored the feed from the performance software to ensure the video and audio functioned properly in the live stream.

Directed by upper school drama and technical theater teacher Frank Schneider, the show was viewable on Twitch, a live stream tool that was embedded on the website quincymorrison.net, which the students created specifically for the play.

Students developed problem-solving, creative-thinking and technology-building skills, which they will use to revamp theatrical performance experiences for years to come.

Arts

One thing Latin students say frequently is that our buildings “feel like home” to them. Making kids feel at home is something that all adults, from classroom teachers to reception staff, strive to foster. On March 12, 2020, this sentiment took on a whole new meaning when Latin shifted to a remote learning model for all students due to COVID-19. Suddenly we were faced with making homes across the city feel like Latin.

Our vision for educational excellence compels us to expand each learner’s capacity for purposeful learning, and never before has that vision been more imperative. As the pandemic has progressed, each and every one of us has had to expand our capacity not only for learning, but also for teaching, for communicating, for decision-making and for leading.

We are strong together. We are loyal and true together. And we will remain Romans together.

No one could have imagined back in August how the meaning of our annual theme, Together, would be tested over the last months. We have proven it does not describe only physical closeness, but rather a feeling of connectedness that can withstand shelter-in-place orders, can withstand quarantine and can withstand social distance. Now, the meaning of “together” is much more synonymous with our school motto, fidelitas, which is the Latin word for faithfulness. On the day we first had to close the doors of our buildings we adopted the hashtag #RomansTogether because: We are strong together. We are loyal and true together. And we will remain Romans together.

See how students, faculty and alumni have proven that learning something new, making memorable experiences and giving back to the community can happen anytime and anywhere.

Blue and Orange Olympics

The 2020 Summer Olympic Games may have been postponed, but the Lower School Olympics went off without a hitch. All the events are designed to be completed indoors or outdoors using common household items, including a laundry basket or bucket, paper, a towel, a blanket, painter’s tape, string or streamers, pillows, a timer, a paper ball or sock ball, paper plates, markers or crayons, and a mop or broom. Six activities per grade level (JK–4th grade) were posted on Seesaw along with the details of the event as well as a “how to video.” Based on the videos students submitted via Seesaw, they definitely took home the gold!

Egg Drop at Home

The Egg Drop changed a little this year due to remote learning. Fourth grade students still engaged in the engineering and design process and considered the problem and materials they could use to solve it. However, this year, they were tasked with designing a container built from any household materials of their choice that would protect an egg from breaking when dropped from a minimum height of six feet. All 64 students in the grade submitted videos of their egg drop, and the vast majority had success. A silver lining to completing the egg drops at home was that whole families got involved.

Family Music Makers

On any given day, if you were to walk into the lower school music room during class, you’d probably see students collaboratively singing, moving, composing, and playing drums, xylophones, shakers, triangles and all sorts of percussion instruments. So what better way to kick off the remote music learning series than to re-create the joy of music-making together with families. The instrument choices were boxes (drums), cutlery, lids, pots/pans/cans or other items that could creatively be turned into musical instruments. Everyone could join the band – babies, toddlers, younger and older siblings, grown-ups and even pets.

Sixth Grade Foodies

Middle school students don’t just take computer science (CS) courses; they also incorporate CS techniques into their classwork, which provides a more real-world experience utilizing those skills. An example of this collaboration is the one between middle school CS teacher Bobby Oommen and middle school Language Arts teacher Sarah Abaza on the sixth grade food writing unit. Back in January, Oommen and Abaza planned for students to take on the role of food critics and compose food reviews, then publish them online by coding their own websites. Despite transitioning to remote learning in March, Oommen and El-Abaza moved forward with the plan so that students could share their published sites with others. Oommen’s detailed, step-by-step tutorial videos helped the students create and personalize their sites once they finished composing the review. Warning: These reviews will make you hungry!

Features

Latin’s 2019 upper school fall play, “She Kills Monsters” by Qui Nguyen, is an energetic comedic drama set in a fictional high school in the 1990s and a special-effects-laden fantasy world within the role-playing game Dungeons and Dragons.

The play is filled with ogres, killer fairies, evil cheerleaders and even a flesh-eating Jell-O mold! This ambitious piece presented numerous design and technical challenges. Over the summer, Director Nick Baer and performing arts faculty designers, along with guest costume designer Gaby Kuhn, collaborated to create the look and feel of the show, beginning by sharing a variety of ’90s era research images: D&D figurines and packaging, stills from MTV shows, album cover art and layouts from Ray Gun magazine, to name a few. With support from Latin’s Performing Arts Endowment, additional guest artists were brought in to assist with the effort. Mask and puppet maker David Knezz taught sculpting and papier-mâché techniques, helping the cast create their own masks for several fantasy characters. Fight choreographers Dave Gonzalez and Nicky Jasper were integral in developing the dramatic final sequence of the play, in which a five-headed dragon, operated by student puppeteers in the balcony, swoops in over the heads of the audience to do battle with the play’s hero.

The fall semester stagecraft class was tasked with developing many of the effects and specialty costume pieces from the play. Students worked in groups to research techniques, gather resources and collaborate with faculty and guest artists. One group created the Beholder, a grotesque giant eyeball that appears for a short but memorably hilarious moment. Another group created the five dragon puppets, working with Knezz through multiple iterations of sculpting techniques for the heads, as well as engineering puppeteering poles up to 22 feet long that were lightweight, yet nimble and durable enough to be operated safely above the audience. Another group created a giant cube of green Jell-O, using PVC pipes, pool noodles, and translucent plastic strips that could “swallow” a character whole. The last group created blood and gore effects, concocting gallons of “blood” from corn syrup, chocolate sauce and laundry detergent. This group also worked closely with Kuhn building fake arms that could be dramatically ripped off a character during each performance. Many of the particular requirements for these projects evolved as fights, blocking and concepts were refined in rehearsal. Through this process, stagecraft students learned the value of frequent, detailed communication with members of the production team and cast.

At the end of the semester, a group of stagecraft students created a gallery display of artifacts and documentation from the play. They gathered production photos, original design drawings, props and costume pieces, displaying them paired with labels and descriptions to tell the story of the “behind the scenes” production process. This display gave the Latin community the chance to see the extensive creative and technical work from students, faculty and guest artists that goes into putting on a visually compelling theatrical production on the Latin stage.

Arts

Upper school students transformed the fall play into a virtual, interactive experience, complete with an engaging website and a cutting-edge Zoom performance. Twenty-one students presented "Lucy Westenra is Not (and Will Never Be) a Vampire" from 20 different locations on October 28-30, 2020. The play, written by Latin alum and current lower school assistant teacher, Marjorie Muller '13," is based on Bram Stoker's classic novel "Dracula."

The production of presenting the virtual performance took careful planning and technological skill. Each student used a green screen (coupled with a chroma-key green virtual background) on Zoom. Back at Latin, a "mission control" center utilized brand new technology that was developed during the pandemic to route the live feeds of the actors on Zoom and make them appear in the custom configurations on screen. First, ZoomOSC software allowed "mission control" to see the location of each actor on the Zoom feed (top left, center right, bottom middle, etc.). Then software from Troikatronix called Isadora merged the performers onto shared backgrounds to make them appear like they were in the same location, plus it layered in video and audio effects. 

Students developed problem-solving, creative-thinking and technology-building skills, which they will use to revamp theatrical performance experiences for years to come.

Working alongside upper school technical theater teacher Thad Hallstein, the show's student stage manager, Natalie R. '22, called out all of the screen configuration changes and audio and effects cues. This included giving the actors their cues in the Zoom chat as well as communicating with the actors in a separate group text chat for other directions. The student computer control operator, Elliot K. '22, then executed the cues in the performance software. He also served as an emergency understudy to step in front of a green screen set up at Latin should an actor's WIFI drop out or they lose connection with them on Zoom. Shane Enderle, a member of Latin's IT team, monitored the feed from the performance software to ensure the video and audio functioned properly in the live stream.

Directed by upper school drama and technical theater teacher Frank Schneider, the show was viewable on Twitch, a live stream tool that was embedded on the website quincymorrison.net, which the students created specifically for the play.

Students developed problem-solving, creative-thinking and technology-building skills, which they will use to revamp theatrical performance experiences for years to come.

Arts

Latin’s 2019 upper school fall play, “She Kills Monsters” by Qui Nguyen, is an energetic comedic drama set in a fictional high school in the 1990s and a special-effects-laden fantasy world within the role-playing game Dungeons and Dragons.

The play is filled with ogres, killer fairies, evil cheerleaders and even a flesh-eating Jell-O mold! This ambitious piece presented numerous design and technical challenges. Over the summer, Director Nick Baer and performing arts faculty designers, along with guest costume designer Gaby Kuhn, collaborated to create the look and feel of the show, beginning by sharing a variety of ’90s era research images: D&D figurines and packaging, stills from MTV shows, album cover art and layouts from Ray Gun magazine, to name a few. With support from Latin’s Performing Arts Endowment, additional guest artists were brought in to assist with the effort. Mask and puppet maker David Knezz taught sculpting and papier-mâché techniques, helping the cast create their own masks for several fantasy characters. Fight choreographers Dave Gonzalez and Nicky Jasper were integral in developing the dramatic final sequence of the play, in which a five-headed dragon, operated by student puppeteers in the balcony, swoops in over the heads of the audience to do battle with the play’s hero.

The fall semester stagecraft class was tasked with developing many of the effects and specialty costume pieces from the play. Students worked in groups to research techniques, gather resources and collaborate with faculty and guest artists. One group created the Beholder, a grotesque giant eyeball that appears for a short but memorably hilarious moment. Another group created the five dragon puppets, working with Knezz through multiple iterations of sculpting techniques for the heads, as well as engineering puppeteering poles up to 22 feet long that were lightweight, yet nimble and durable enough to be operated safely above the audience. Another group created a giant cube of green Jell-O, using PVC pipes, pool noodles, and translucent plastic strips that could “swallow” a character whole. The last group created blood and gore effects, concocting gallons of “blood” from corn syrup, chocolate sauce and laundry detergent. This group also worked closely with Kuhn building fake arms that could be dramatically ripped off a character during each performance. Many of the particular requirements for these projects evolved as fights, blocking and concepts were refined in rehearsal. Through this process, stagecraft students learned the value of frequent, detailed communication with members of the production team and cast.

At the end of the semester, a group of stagecraft students created a gallery display of artifacts and documentation from the play. They gathered production photos, original design drawings, props and costume pieces, displaying them paired with labels and descriptions to tell the story of the “behind the scenes” production process. This display gave the Latin community the chance to see the extensive creative and technical work from students, faculty and guest artists that goes into putting on a visually compelling theatrical production on the Latin stage.

Arts

So what better way to kick off the remote music learning series, than to recreate the joy of music-making together with families. The instrument choices were boxes (drums), cutlery, lids, pots/pans/cans or other items that could creatively be turned into musical instruments. Everyone could join the band – pets, babies, toddlers, younger and older siblings, grown-ups. There is a wonderful saying, "Art decorates space; and music decorates time." Mrs. Friedman, Mrs. Durairaj, Ms. Martinez and Ms. Baker are working with lower school students and families to make the most of their space and time with creative ideas. Check out family music makers in action!

Arts

Arts

Despite the fall athletic season looking very different this year, many of the athletes were able to safely compete in their sports. View a video created by Latin's Athletic Department that was played at the virtual fall sports banquet and take a look at their individual and team accomplishments below.

Boys and Girls Cross Country
ISL: Boys First Place; Girls First Place
Regional: Boys First Place; Girls First Place
Sectional: Boys Third Place; Girls Second Place
The upper school cross country teams were the best teams in Latin's long strong history of producing excellent teams. The girls were ranked number one in the state for most of the season and the boys as high as fifth. At the conference meet, Latin swept all four JV and varsity races with the girls varsity team earning a historic perfect score!

JV Boys Golf
Overall Record: 4-3
Highlights from the JV boys golf season included a barnburner win against De La Salle Institute at Jackson Park Golf Course and a rowdy team scramble to finish up the season at Sydney Marovitz Golf Course.

Varsity Boys Golf
ISL: Third Place
Regional: First Place
Sectional: Third Place
In a year unlike any other, the Latin boys varsity golf team displayed grit, enthusiasm, optimism and zest in a time that did not always present the environment to do so. In a "normal" year, the boys' would have qualified for the IHSA 1A State Tournament, something to hang their hats on and their chins held high. A special thank you to all of the seniors who, in too many ways to list, were the building blocks to this program in recent years.

Varsity Girls Golf
Overall Record: 9-1
ISL: First Place
Regional: First Place
Sectional: Third Place
The team was 9-1 in dual matches this season with their only loss being to a really talented Fenwick squad. The girls won a dual match against Loyola Academy on their home course and also on their Senior Day. Though they qualified for the State Finals, the final round of competition was not held. 

Girls Swimming
Overall Record: 5-3
Sectional: Fifth Place
Placing in the top 12 individually at Sectionals and scoring points for Latin included: 
Elena S.- 9th in the 200 free, 5th in the 500 free 
Zoe S.- 9th in the 100 fly, 10th in the 50 free 
Alexa S.- 7th in the 200 IM, 5th in the 100 back
Ashley R.- 6th in the 200 IM, 2nd in the 100 breast
Elro S.- 8th in the 50 free, 10th in the 100 fly 
Katie C.- 10th in the 200 free, 12th in the 500 free 

JV Girls Tennis
Overall Record: 9-2   
The Romans became closer as a team, worked hard, and overcame difficult opponents such as Walter Payton and Lane Tech. The coaches were so proud of what they all accomplished this season and are looking forward to the next season.

Varsity Girls Tennis
Overall Record: 14-1
ISL: First Place
Sectional: First Place
Sectionals was a repeat of history for Latin's first and second doubles teams to face off in the finals. This isn’t always the best-case scenario but it is pretty impressive and shows the hard work they had put into the season. The coaches were proud of the resilience and adaptability of the players to have a successful season.

Sailing
State Championship Regatta: Fourth Place
Chicago Yacht Club Team: First Place
The sailing team had a wonderful season, especially with summer-like temperatures in November. The regattas were few due to restricted inter-state travel and limits on clubs hosting outside teams during the pandemic, but Latin endured and the eight varsity and two JV sailors practiced three times per week. This paid off at the November 7-8 State Shepard's Championship Regatta with Latin placing fourth out of 15! Though falling short to Lake Forest High School,  U of C Lab School and Loyola Academy, Latin defeated local rivals St. Ignatius, New Trier and Walter Payton, as well as Jones and Whitney Young.

Athletics
 

The Boys and Girls Cross Country teams have been ranked among the top teams in the state according to MileSplit IL.

The girls team is ranked #1 in Class 2A, while the boys team is ranked #5 in Class 1A. These are the highest rankings for the Cross Country teams in school history. These highs, however, are coupled with the lows of the inability to participate in the State tournament due to the COVID-19 pandemic. If the teams were able to compete at State this year, they would have taken home two trophies. Despite this, the most enjoyable moments for the athletes this season include being with peers, socializing (safely), exercising, soaking up the fresh air and sunshine and just having fun. Congrats, Romans!

Athletics

Watch the students sign!

Athletics

Athletics