Twenty-eight Latin club members and four chaperones attended the National Junior Classical League Convention in Las Vegas July 21-27. Almost 2,000 students from around the country attended. Throughout the event, the students participated in races, team sports, art contests and academic contests. In addition to the various competitions, professors, authors and teachers presented lectures for the students.

“My favorite part of the trip was hearing from all the students about how they did at their contests, who they met each day and what they learned from the various seminars and events,” Latin Club co-sponsor Natalie Cannon said. “Hearing how excited and happy they are from what they can learn and accomplish is what makes the exhausting trip worthwhile.”

However, the convention was not all work. In order to give the students breaks, there were dances, karaoke and movies. After the convention, the Westlake students visited The Strip to admire the classical art, statues and fountains at Caesar’s Palace, the Venetian and the Bellagio.

“My favorite part of the convention would either be watching the advanced Certamen finals or listening to Magister [Alan] Abbe sing and dance to ‘I Knew You Were Trouble’ by Taylor Swift,” sophomore Shravi Lam said. “The advanced Certamen teams had amazing players that kept me on the edge of my seat, but to be honest, Magister’s performance on karaoke night probably takes the cake.”

The Latin Club has a lot on its plate this year, with events such as club dinners, service projects and other social activities planned by the student officers. During the spring, it will also participate in the Area F Pflugerville competition and the Texas State Junior Classical League convention in Austin.

“I am most looking forward to seeing how students that I have taught and coached for a few years will do in their competitions this year,” Cannon said. “[I would also like to see] how many new students from my freshman [class] entering Latin will find a niche in the Junior Classical League.”