Latin is the root of romance languages, and true to its name, the Latin III/AP Latin class is unified by the students’ love for the subject. 

“There’s so much culture and history to learn,” junior Alicia Liu said. “For me, it has had a profound impact on my high school years and has encouraged me to seek more knowledge about Latin, possibly in college.”

The atmosphere in the class is vibrant — from Latin teacher Krista Greksouk’s engaging storytelling — to the ways the students recite Latin phrases. More than anything, it’s interactive.

“She teaches us in a lively manner,” junior Alicia Liu said. “It’s definitely made us more receptive to learning.” 

Each class starts with a warm-up drill, where students recite phrases. For the most part, students are in unison , but aren’t always perfect. Yet, their slip-ups are acknowledged by warm smiles and soft laughter — not as mockery, but the type used to empathize, and tell someone they’re doing just fine.

It all comes down to the connections between the students. 

“I’m never disappointed by my seating,” senior Sophia Suffoletto said. “It’s because we’ve all made friends with each other. Everyone there is super kind and passionate about the subject.” 

This connection with each other is partly due to the years Latin students have spent together, but time isn’t the only reason.

“We have a lot of projects where we get to know each other,” Sophia said. “One time, we fought with cardboard weapons and shields while we learned about Roman battle formations.” 

It’s been years since their Roman battle formations project, but the memories remain long after the projects finish. 

“I remember Avery, now an alumni, was the lone survivor running all around the asphalt,” Greksouk said. “Totally random stuff that you remember, but it’s really fun to see.”

“It’s a lot of fun to take the creative process and apply it to what we’re learning,” Alicia said.

Projects are just one of the ways Greksouk unites her class. She also gets students to bond by sharing hobbies as unique as costume design and telling stories as wild as car accidents. 

“I make them share out good news at the beginning of class, and at first it’s crickets,” Greksouk said. “But then one person will start talking, and that reminds another student of another story. It’s a lot of community building.” 

However, Greksouk’s main method to build connections with her students is to make the class as engaging and enjoyable as possible. She constantly moves throughout the room to help out and answer questions. Sometimes she even tells stories on the origins of language, uniquely intertwining history into her Latin classes. 

“I like to be part of the fun,” Greksouk said. 

But there’s a problem. Despite its lighthearted nature and supportive class environment, a lack of signups created smaller Latin classes. Last year, Latin III and AP Latin classes were combined to make up for the declining class sizes.

“It’s tricky,” Greksouk said. “I have to prepare AP Latin to be a lot more independent because I need to handhold Latin III while going back and forth between the two classes to help them.”

Though small, Latin stands out by the passion of its students.

“I love the class,” Sophia said. “Ms. Greksouk is an amazing teacher. That’s why we’ve been in it for four years. If we didn’t have the love and the passion for it, we wouldn’t still be here.”