Alae Mercurii Volume 12 Issue 2: Fall Edition | Page 23

CHLOE WILLS

On November 10th, 2017, the students of the active NGJCL gathered together in Mr. Martin’s room after school, ready to perform craftsmanship of projects for both those in need and those who have bravely served for our country. After a gratitude statement from our NGJCL President, Kevin Kim, the whole crowd was lead to the chorus room as the Latin room was too small for such enormous participation as always. When everyone was quietly settled, Kevin and Daniel, our fellow Vice President, proceeded to give simple instructions on what general ideas to put on the blank canvases, (in this case, white t-shirts) and how to assemble the desired structure of the letters. Understanding the rules, the eager volunteers ran to grab numerous fabric markers of various colors and began to decorate the shirts with different Latin phrases of positivity such as “carpe diem,” meaning “seize the day.” Not only was the t-shirt activity/service a “bene” way to embellish clothes for those cold in the season of winter, but also an “optime” way to present artistic imaginations and skills! Additionally, to increase the efficiency of the overall event, during the period of when the amount of fabric markers were scarce, other students started to work on troop letters, relaying their appreciation for what the

Awesome NGJCL students getting into groups to brainstorm t-shirt designs together!

fighters have done to preserve protection and patriotism of the United States. Furthermore, to add to the productive atmosphere, Daniel started to play some chill music through a bluetooth speaker from his Spotify playlist for others to sing along to, ranging from the ballads of Sam Smith to the pop rhythm of Demi Lovato. In the span of legitimately 10 minutes, the whole chorus room turned into a choir, truly representing the tight-knit bond of the NGJCL; the overall view of the room was a blissful sight to look at as both a Latin teacher and student as volunteers were exchanging conversations and working together to think of original t-shirt designs that would go along well with “veni, vidi, vici.” Of course, from our fellow prime officers, a wave of laughter was brought into the crowd as they started to model the hand-made designed t-shirts so professionally as high-quality pictures were being taken from the amazing NGJCL historian, Chloe Wills. Unfortunately, however, as time gradually passed by, both the stack of t-shirts and letters started to pile up, and resources were starting to run out, foreshadowing the end of the project. Volunteers not only helped clean up, but also stayed around to talk to more Latin students, showing the open relationship within our Latin club while still enacting acts of kindness.

NGJCL students gathering around to quickly grab their desired colors for their t-shirts!

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