Meet Katarina
In Latin class, I like how you’re not only learning about the language, but also about the history behind it. A lot of my friends chose Spanish over Latin [as a language] because everyone knows Spanish, and it’s helpful because we live in Florida. But I like Latin because you learn little bits from every language in it. Plus Mr. Seary is really fun. He lets us mess around, within limits.
So if I could give one piece of advice to a future Tampa Prep student it would be to do different things outside of your comfort zone. It’s more relaxed here. If you don’t like it, you can always change. The teachers are forgiving if you’re not good at something. They let you grow.
Like, math is my greatest struggle right now. My parents pushed me to go into an upper math class this year and I was really nervous because I thought it would be scary with the older kids, you know, intermingling with the eighth graders. But now I know them all and it’s fine. I use math a lot in Robotics, which I really like because it’s challenging. It’s just me and one other girl and 12 boys in Robotics class. Last year I got the Robotics Award, which was my biggest accomplishment so far.
But back to Latin. I really want to speak Latin well. If you want to be a lawyer, [speaking Latin] helps a lot, and that’s one of the things I might want to do when I get older.
Kat is also interested in
Tennis
Civics
Track
Mr. John Seary on Kat
Kat is one of the students I can always count on to facilitate discussions. She’s willing to translate, even if she’s unsure of her correctness, and if there is a lull in the discussion, she tries interjecting to bring us back on topic.
She has intrinsic motivation that helps language students, because the more you do it, the more you practice, the better you become. So to have someone who’s both capable of doing great things and has the desire to do great things–that’s a package to succeed in any class, really.
Kat’s the kind of student who you can explain it to once–whatever the topic may be; a treatise on Roman law or the grammatical aspect of Latin–and she’ll understand and do it on her own. She’s an independent worker. But if she understands it, she’ll help her friends–she thrives when she can help others. That’s her intrinsic motivation. Some students say “I’m done so I can start doing homework.” She is a student who, when she finishes all her stuff, she’ll come to me and ask for more. She’s the only student I have this year who has asked me–when she’s finished her normal work–to read Latin fairy tale book just for fun.
