Another good reason to study French!

It seems that Frenchmen of ALL species have that special charm for the ladies. A male gorilla from the French zoo La Boissiere du Dore is on its way to visit the three female gorillas in the London zoo, who have been without male companionship since their friend Bobby died last December. When given photos of their charming new companion, the girls all reacted very positively: one shrieked in delight, a second one posted hers in a tree for contemplation, and a third clasped the photo to her chest and then ate it! Read the story here:
http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/europe/08/28/uk.london.zoo.gorilla/index.html

Chinese news

MBA's Chinese program became the first in the state of Tennessee to offer Chinese IV AP. Teacher Joan Li received news this summer that her course audit was more than sufficient to receive certification for the AP designation.

news,2009-2010

Anderson Gaither, a Latin teacher at MBA for 39 years, has been appointed the chair of the Foreign Languages Department. He replaces Dr. Rick Seay, who has been promoted to Academic Dean. Mr. Gaither joins other past department chairs Dr. Ed Gaffney and Ms. Anne Christeson.

Photos from Germany Trip 2008

Frauenkirche -- Dresden

View of Dresden

Remains of the Berlin Wall

Brandenburger Tor -- Berlin

Reichstag Glass Dome, Berlin

Reichstag

Afternoon in Magdeburg's Innenstadt. Magdeburg is Nashville's Sister-City.

View of Elbe River and Magdeburg Skyline with the Gothic Dom/Cathedral in sight

Students interested in a possible trip to Germany in Summer 2010 should contact Herr Sawyer as soon as possible! All those with "Reiselust" say I!!

Vespasian's birthplace home found

Roman archaeologists working Cittareale, about 40 miles northeast of Rome, have uncovered extensive remains of a luxurious villa which they believe must be the home where the 1st century emperor Vespasian was born. The villa complex covers over 150,000 square feet and contains a huge marble inlaid floor with marble from all over the Italian peninsula. Read more about this discovery here:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/08/07/vespasian-birthplace-roma_n_254188.html

School Year Drawing Near

Here are some pictures of our festive luncheon at Anatolia back in May. It's hard to remember how it felt to have the whole summer ahead of us!

5000-year-old Skeleton of Roman Warrior Found Near Rome

ROME - Archaelogists revealed Friday, August 31, that they have found the bones of a Roman warrior from almost 5,000 years ago floating in a tomb filled with sea water on a beach near Rome. The beach is a public beach near Nettuno, about 40 miles south of Rome. Archaeologists speculate that there may be a necropolis here and plan to do further excavation.
The skeleton, dating from the 3rd millenium B.C., was discovered in May. The archaeologists studying the remains believe that the soldier was killed by an arrow, whose point was found among his ribs.
Read the article here:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/08/01/5000-year-old-warriors-sk_n_249257.html