August 14, 2009

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.

August 12, 2009

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!!

August 7, 2009

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

August 5, 2009

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!

August 1, 2009

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

July 2, 2009

No Dictionaries for Latin

In case anyone missed this Latinteach post, there's exciting technology for reading Latin passages without having to look up every word. Could make life a lot easier, but I will still treasure my Lewis and Short! For non-Latin teachers, are there such dictionary engines for modern languages, too?