Reports


Poggioli Scholarship Experience

The following report was submitted by Michele Becker, who received the Renata Poggioli Award recently.


With the money that the scholarship allowed, I was able to travel to Rome for July of 2022 and participate in the Latin Teaching Methodology course through The Polis Institute of Languages and Humanities. This course was incredibly beneficial, as I learned about strategies, resources, and materials for teaching Latin using the active, Polis method. I also had the opportunity to create an entire unit plan based on the Polis method of teaching active Latin that I will be able to bring into my own classroom. I feel much more confident in my ability to practice active Latin with my students and to provide activities that allow them to learn Latin in an authentic, empowering way. 

Outside of class hours, I was able to visit so many incredible sites and museums to assist in the creation of my art history and mythology courses. I spent ample time at the Capitoline Museums, Galleria Borghese, the Vatican Museums, and the many ancient sites in Rome gathering pictures, intel, and ideas to bring back to my students. I also had the opportunity to take additional Italian lessons and work on my Italian language skills, something that will allow me to be a better teacher of active Latin and make more professional and personal connections in Italy.

This was such a special experience and I am so grateful to CANE and the Renata Poggioli Award for gifting me such an unforgettable July!


Kate Horsley – 2020 Wiencke Citation

Due to an oversight at the 2020 Annual meeting, we are here honoring LAST YEAR’s recipient of the Matthew I. Wiencke Teaching Award at this gathering, and the winner was Kate Horsley of Hopkins School in New Haven, Connecticut.

Kate has been teaching at Hopkins for 24 years, serving as department chair for 11 of those years. Jessica Hildahl, Latin teacher at Guilford High School and friend and colleague of Kate, praised her not only for her commitment to making the study of Latin more compassionate and inclusive for her students but also for her dedication to improving her own and her department’s pedagogical practice. As department chair, Kate took it upon herself to improve the student experience for language learners at her school by taking a sabbatical to research best practices for teaching Latin. She traveled all around New England visiting other teachers’ classrooms and learning everything she could. She then wrote an all new introductory Latin curriculum for her middle school students, while continuing to support her colleagues in their own processes of self-reflection and transformation. She also has served for many years as the faculty advisor to the GSA, helping students find their place and feel safe and supported in their school.

Kate’s many years of excellence in teaching and leadership and her generous collegiality make her a worthy recipient of this esteemed award.

We will honor THIS YEAR’s winner of the Matthew I. Wiencke Teaching Award at the closing ceremony, next Saturday.