Norwood High School Revives Latin Classes After Nearly a Decade-September 26, 1994

For the first time in nearly ten years, hallways at Norwood High School are echoing with a 2,000-year-old tongue as Latin classes officially return to the curriculum.

A Fresh Approach to a Classical Language

When teacher Stephen Olbrys calls out “Silente. Amabote” from the front of the classroom, twenty-five students respond to the prompt—translating everyday sentences like “the dog is in the garden” and diving into Graeco-Roman history five days a week.

Long dismissed by many public schools as irrelevant, Latin has made a surprising comeback among students seeking an alternative to modern languages like Spanish and French. “It’s old and ancient and there’s something attractive about that,” said 17-year-old student Joey Rabbitt. Far from facing peer ridicule, students noted that their classmates view the choice as unique; as 17-K-year-old Monica Rosa put it, “They think it’s cool.”

Gone are the days of monotonous noun and verb drills. Olbrys, a 23-raising master’s degree student in classics at Tufts University and a Salem resident, teaches the language through sentence structure and literature rather than isolated grammar memorization. He brings dramatic flair to his lessons, reciting passages with passion and welcoming student engagement—such as when student Domenica Rizza, 17, brought in a recording of Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana for help translating its medieval Latin lyrics.

Administration Support and Growing Demand

While past student interest had fallen short of forming a class, Assistant Superintendent Roderick Smith noted that strong sign-ups this spring prompted the administration to approve nearly $5,000 to fund Olbrys’ position for the year.

Olbrys points out that while learning Latin offers traditional academic benefits—such as expanding vocabulary, boosting SAT scores, and strengthening grammar and discipline—its ultimate value lies in understanding the foundational literature, philosophy, and mythology that continue to shape modern society. Challenging the stereotype that the language is too difficult, Rizza remarked, “Everyone thinks they’re going to fail if they take Latin, but it’s not as hard as everyone makes it out to be.”

Archival Note: This article has been dynamically reconstructed from the original public record print archives of the Patriot Ledger