Hexham Book Festival

Hexham Book Festival 2013

Saturday 27th April, 10:30am Queen’s Hall
Salve! Want to know what made the centurions of Vindolanda tick? In this
taster session for teaching Latin to children aged 7 and over, Barbara Bell
uses a mixture of myths, history and language to bring Latin and
Roman Britain alive.
Tickets are available from the Box Office 01434 652477 or online at the
Queen's Hall website or at the Hexham Book Festival site
Queen’s Hall, Beaumont Street, Hexham, Northumberland, NE46 3LS
£7 adults/£5 children under 14
At a separate event on the same day, Barbara will be running an informal
tour of Vindolanda and the Chesterholm Museum, helped by Catherine
Jarvis, a qualified guide and Minimus Latin teacher. The tour will commence
at 3pm meeting just inside the West Gate of Vindolanda in the courtyard.
Please look at www.vindolanda.com for more information on admission prices
(normal prices will apply), access and layout of the site.

 

Classics for All Reception at the Mansion House – London

I was honoured to be invited to this splendid reception which was hosted by the Lord Mayor of London at the Mansion House in July. "Minimus" has been extremely fortunate in obtaining sponsorship from "Classics for All." The aim of this reception was for those who have given generously to get together and hear reports on how their money has been spent. Jane Maguire, from the PLP committee, gave a fascinating account of the North Walsham project. Clearly the members of the" Classics for All "committee and those who have given money were very pleased indeed by the ways it is being used and the growth of the project in North Walsham.

There is an account of the reception and of the various speeches including Jane’s on the "Classics for All" website (http://www.classicsforall.org.uk/news/). The reception had a most positive atmosphere as over 100 people, all huge supporters of Classics, met and shared encouraging stories of many exciting projects currently taking place. Much was made of the fact that both the Mayor and Lord Mayor of London are very pro-classics. In addition, Michael Gove sent us a message of good wishes and many comments were made about the fact that primary children are now required to begin their language learning at a younger age and that this need not necessarily be a modern foreign language - Latin and Greek are also possible. This is of enormous significance for "Minimus" and provides great opportunities for us.

A video has been made, including the work of the North Walsham project; this can be seen by clicking on the following link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2udC0SZo98&feature=youtu.be

We are very grateful indeed to "Classics for All" for the initial grant and for their on-going interest and support.

Charity Status for the Primary Latin Project

We are pleased to announce that the Primary Latin Project has been awarded charity status. Our registration number is 1148301. This is a great step forward which should ensure financial stability for the project. Those of you who have sponsored Minimus over the years will be pleased to know that we now have this charity number.

If any of you are willing to support us further and are able to complete a Gift Aid form, please email nicolaprince99@hotmail.com if you wish to receive a form.

Bath Royal Literary & Scientific Institution

Thursday 13 Sept 2012 - 7.30pm

Barbara will be speaking at this event and you are welcome to attend.
Tickets cost £4 or £2 for members and students.

For further information, please call 01225 312084 or visit www.brlsi.org

Minimus the Musical, 2012

After all the hard work, we put on five good performances of 'Minimus the Musical' in London and Monmouth. Over 1000 people saw the show -750 in Monmouth and 250 in London. Several schools were able to come, including a Prep school which has not yet used Minimus. Their dynamic teacher of Latin came to the June training day, was hooked, has persuaded their Head to introduce it in Yr 4 & 5 and brought a group to see the show. (and has written a very complimentary email!) Many of our sponsors such as Peter Wiseman, Anthony Bowen, Christopher Liddle, Jeremy Morse & Belinda - all of whom have been very generous to Minimus - attended one of the performances.

I was very proud of the cast and the orchestra also sounded good. We came up to London in a huge coach complete with all the instruments, costumes and props, including Barates' cart, specially made for this production by a member of our DT department!   

The DVD of the Musical is now available at a cost of £16 plus postage. Click here for an order form.

Primary Latin Project Training Days 2012

This year we are holding two training days in November at James Allen's Girls' School, Dulwich, London.  Details are following:

Sat 10 November 2012: This training course is for all those new to using Minimus. The day will include an overview of the content and principles of the book plus information on how the Primary Latin Project can support you in your teaching. We will explore how to teach Minimus in a club situation as well as on the timetable.

Sat 24 November 2012: This day is designed to help those who have experience in using Minimus. We will look at Minimus as a cross-curricular subject; strategies for helping children to learn vocabulary; the use of games in the classroom etc.

All training days cost £60 per delegate for a full day including lunch and course resources.

If you have any queries or would like an application form, please contact

PLP Administrator:  Nicola Prince:  nicolaprince99@hotmail.com

Cheltenham Literary Festival

Barbara is pleased to announce that she will be running two Minimus workshops at the Cheltenham Literary Festival on Thursday 11th October.

Each workshop will be for up to 60 children and will be taking place either side of Caroline Lawrence’s session. It will be possible to book a slot for Minimus on its own or combined with Caroline’s Lawrence’s workshop.

Check the Cheltenham Festival's page for details in due course.