OJCL Torch Winter 2016-2017 | Page 32

For nearly our entire first semester of school, Westlake Latin Club has been without a Latin teacher. We've had two subs, one for the first quarter and another for the second, and the first sub didn't even speak Latin. She was an English teacher. We enjoyed both of the subs and they did a great job helping us without our teacher, but it was still hard with our beloved Mrs. Patton gone. However, in the months without her, our club perservered and continued to run our club and do service. The following are the great service projects that our club has attended or completed in the last months.

Homecoming Parade and face painting at the game: In the beginning of the year, our club marched in our Homecoming parade and threw candy to the kids and parents of Westlake. After the parade, we went to the game and set up a booth for $1 face painting, and all the proceeds were donated to Prayers from Maria, a childhood brain tumor research foundation. The face painting was great because it raised money for a great cause and spread Westlake pride at our Homecoming game!

Pumpkin painting: Every year, our club gets Pumpkins donated to us by a local farm to paint and then donate to a local nursing home. The pumpkins decorate the rooms of the patients in the nursing home and make them smile. It's always a great time getting to walk around and place the different pumpkins for decoration, and it's a great club bonding activity too.

Halloween Fun Night: Our school always throws a Halloween Fun Night for the kids and parents of Westlake to come trick or treat and have fun! Latin club hosts a room every year, and we usually play twister, but this year we switched things up a bit and did a cookie decorating room. It was super fun, but very messy. At one point, a little kid grabbed a bowl of sprinkles we had lying out and just starting eating it with a spoon. Yum.

St. Eds mini convention: Hosted by St. Eds, the mini convention was held to encourage JCLers from schools without a chapter to join the OJCL. We had Certamen, impromptu art, a test, and even played Mafia just for fun. It was a great time, and it was great to have Westlake members attend.

Cookies for preschoolers: We baked cookies, decorated them as a club at a movie night we held, and then donated them to Preschoolers from Westlake. It was a cute way to bring smiles to their faces!

Tutoring before school: Without a Latin teacher in the beginning of the year, it was really hard for the Level 1 kids to learn Latin and for everybody else to stay caught up, so our club started doing some tutoring on some mornings before school. It was a really good way to keep everybody caught up.

Westlake

Kelly Thaxton

32 OJCL TORCH: Chapter Updates Winter MMXVII https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjB6MPV-L3RAhVMNiYKHUL8A4EQjRwIBw&url=https%3A%2F%2Fmagistrabush.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F09%2F23%2Fjcl-t-shirt-contest%2F&psig=AFQjCNHBUl5DxFMgey96R-DH1Oh37W6Q0A&ust=1484356401987376