CertaWIN - A Winning Tradition?

By Sarah Fromm

Winchester’s first certamen was many things: it was most definitely stressful, a memorable testament to the Winchester chapter’s organization, teamwork, and question-writing skills. But, above all, it was fun. 

The idea for the first CertaWIN came about in the spring of 2024, a time when convention had thinking in the present, but the end of the MassJCL and school years had us thinking about a fresh start. We figured it was about time to try something new, plus we had the manpower to do it.  Picking the theme, which happened after some discussion, occurred early this school year. Studio Ghibli was niche enough to be a cool theme, but there was plenty of material to use for questions. And so, under the guidance of Mr. Howard and Mrs. Decamp, we got to work.

And there was definitely a lot to coordinate! Food, who was coming, teams, rooms, brochures- they all had to be organized. The cast for the high school’s musical was rehearsing in the auditorium, so the general assembly and the final rounds had to be moved to the LG rooms. It was a pretty good call, actually. The LG rooms yare very close to the Language Wing and their desks could easily be rearranged for final rounds. 

Although the initial two rounds cut into the planned lunch time, it ended up working in our favor; the lunch was delivered closer to when prelim round three finished away. Chloe, Alix, and I had all made some merch for the event, so we set up a little mini Agora. I didn’t know how well everything would sell, but we sold the majority of Alix’s crocheted keychains, about half of Chloe’s bracelets, and one print of mine. 

But, I do believe that our first CertaWIN was enjoyable for everyone, or at the very least, a good practice! During the prelim rounds, I floated around taking photos, watching- with pride and embarrassment- as some of my own questions were read. It’s great when you win at certamen, but it’s definitely more rewarding to be able to create that environment yourself. A lot of different skills are tested during this creating process- like budgeting, collaboration, public speaking organization, readying yourself to lend a helping hand. In addition to refining our old skills, we also improved new ones- like question-reading and scorekeeping. 

Like any event at this time in our lives, it was not without drama. But I think the fruits of our labor was worth it. We “harvested” plenty of laughter and memories. On days like this first CertaWIN I can truly see our club working as one. I hope this unity carries over to the 2025 state and national conventions, and for certamens and Kickoffs years to come.

Winchester Schools recently held World Language week(3/10-3/14). With a celebration of all the languages and cultures Winchester offers in their curriculum, Latin was featured on Tuesday. Club officer Zeki read the morning announcements in Latin at Winchester High School while Shelby Koegel, a French student of Magistra DeCamp, read them in Latin at the middle school, both as part of Winchester Public Schools’ World Language Week initiative. Cumulatively, they were likely heard by about 2,000 people, which helped spread the idea that Latin is more than just a relic of the past but a living language that was once spoken by hundreds of thousands of people. 

Pictured below is theWorld Language week display at the high school. Students of all languages including Latin contributed!