Garden City Public Schools

Garden City High School’s Latin Club has had an exciting fall season with its competitive Certamen teams. Certamen, Latin for “competition” or “contest,” assesses students’ knowledge of the Latin language and culture through a variety of formats. GCHS has two varsity teams in the Latin League competition, sponsored by the National Junior Classical League, in which students complete 100-question examinations and compete against other regional schools. This season, the varsity teams hold one win and one loss, with the next round of the competition approaching.

In addition to written competitions, students participated in two in-person, fast-paced “buzz-in” quiz bowl events this fall.

On Nov. 1, 11 GCHS students competed in Yale University’s annual Certamen event, which included more than 80 teams from schools across the country. The intermediate team made its debut, finishing fifth in their bracket, while the advanced teams scored impressively against national competition, with one team placing eighth in the preliminaries and the other tying for second place.

On Nov. 15, 15 students attended Certamen Autumnale at Harriton High School in Bryn Mawr, PA. Two intermediate teams and two advanced teams advanced to the semifinals, with one advanced team reaching the finals. Seniors Olivia Allsbrook, Sinae Cho and Gabriella Tromba, joined by junior Nikki Geiger, secured an exciting win against the host school with a correct answer to the final question.

The GCHS Certamen teams are looking forward to upcoming competitions, including Princeton Certamen in February, Classics Day at Stony Brook University in March and a renewed appearance at the University of Pennsylvania Certamen.

Congratulations to all Garden City High School competitors on an outstanding season thus far.