The new foreign language at school is Latin. It is taught by Mr. Lisi, who also teaches Spanish II and III. This class was introduced last school year on everyone’s course selection sheets. There is only one class in the entire school, so the students that are taking it get to be the first students at North Point to experience Latin.

The school felt it was time for a new foreign language for students to take. Mrs. Hill wanted it to be Latin, and that is when Mr. Lisi stepped up to the plate. He said, “I just wanted to try something different.”

He has been teaching Spanish for five years. Latin was a language he taught to himself by just reading a book. Like a lot of foreign languages, Latin can come in handy in the present and the future. Latin words will be featured on the SATs and there are even some that are present in STI programs. For example, health occupations students learn a lot of medical terms, and some of the terminology is based off of Latin words.

The new Latin class works great for freshmen Julia Lesko (‘15). She said, “I didn’t do too well in French, and I figured I wouldn’t do too well in Spanish.” For Julia, Latin was an opportunity to do better in a foreign language. Her sister gave her the advice to take Latin. She said it was better then French and Spanish. Not only does Julia enjoy learning Latin, but she likes learning it in a small class.

Lesko said, “You get your work done faster.” There are about twenty kids in that class, which is why the work gets done so quickly. She enjoys Mr. Lisi as a teacher. She said, “He’s not overly serious.” Julia has been doing very well in Latin class. She has gotten ‘A’s on her assignments that she has done. Julia said, “So far, everything is easy.” She likes how she does not have to speak the Latin words unlike Spanish and French.

French and Spanish are not for everyone. Latin would be a whole new experience as a foreign language.