Charlotte Latin School

In the final weeks of the school year, members of the Class of 2026 reached out to eighth graders, sharing the importance of speaking up when you're struggling and introducing them to the many resources available in Upper School.

What followed was an open dialogue about all things high school, from grades and homework to friendships and everyday life.

"When we opened up the space for them to ask questions, there wasn't a second of silence," said Wesley Seagraves '26. "It allowed us as seniors to pass forward the wisdom we've gained in our experiences."

Read how these student-led conversations helped build connections between the Class of 2026 and the Class of 2030 at the News link in our bio.

Ne plus ultra! 🏛️

At Charlotte Latin, Latin isn't just part of the name. Our Classical Languages students consistently achieve at a high level in Latin and Greek, and this spring many had opportunities to showcase their hard-earned skills.

Competing at the North Carolina Junior Classical League convention, Charlotte Latin students earned more than 80 awards across academic, artistic, and athletic events. Students also received recognition in two major national translation competitions, earning honors for their outstanding work in Latin translation.

Read more about these impressive achievements and the many ways our students are proving there's plenty of life to be found in a "dead language" at the News link in bio.

Latin. French. Spanish. German. Chinese. Turkish. Farsi. Tamil. Dutch. 🌎🗺️

All those languages are represented among the polyglot students at Charlotte Latin School — and recently, the Global Seal Organization made it official, recognizing 54 Upper School students for achieving the Seal of Biliteracy. Additionally, four students tested in at least two different languages beyond English!

The Seal of Biliteracy is an external rating granted by the Global Seal Organization; it recognizes students’ dual language abilities in English and a second language of their choice, allowing certified students to include this official rating of their language skills on their CVs, making themselves highly marketable employees.

Gretchan Frederick, Chair of the World Languages Department, commented, “This achievement speaks volumes about our students’ love of languages and dedication to proficiency beyond their own. This impressive group of language learners went above and beyond to strengthen their proficiency skills and to excel in the four modalities (reading, writing, listening, and speaking). More importantly, it is a testament to their perseverance and commitment to excellence beyond the classroom, as well as the strength of our World Languages program from TK all the way through 12th grade. We are incredibly proud of every student who earned this prestigious honor and look forward to seeing even more students opt to test next year.”

School was out but the jury was in for the Charlotte Latin Mock Trial team, which competed last week at the Esquire Invitational, hosted by the Ardrey Kell High School Mock Trial Team. ⚖️

The fictional case in the mock trial was dramatic: a criminally negligent homicide charge was centered on an app that spurred the unwise decision by a rock climber to livestream a free climb, leading to a fatal fall. Avi Stone ’29, a new member of the team, won the award for Best Witness for his work playing two roles: Dr. Wilson (an algorithmic computer science expert) and Vic Bolger (a podcaster and “adventurer influencer”).

Congratulations to the whole team! 🎉

Congratulations to Julia Rodrigues Angrisano ’29, who has been triumphing in STEM-related challenges all over North Carolina! Her team (four high school girls from across the state) came in third place at the seventh annual Ready, Set, App! Competition (sponsored by Lenovo) for an app called Nomi, designed to assist memory-impaired adults.

Rodrigues Andrisano was also recently named a Young STEM Star by AWIS [Association of Women in Science] North Carolina, taking first place in the senior (high school) division for her study of “The Linguistic Cost of English-Dominated Science.”

“She doesn’t need someone to drive her—she has a force inside her that is nonstop,” said Innovation and Design Teacher Barbara Morrow, who advised the Ready, Set, App! team. “She takes what she does at Charlotte Latin and applies it outside of Charlotte Latin.”

Late in the school year, life bloomed in the Grade 5 hallway of the Lower School. Students created huge dioramas representing biomes spanning from tundra to wetlands, populated with complicated and interdependent ecosystems.

It was born from Charlotte Latin School cross-divisional inspiration: when Fifth Grade Science Teacher Jenny Farnham saw how her Middle School colleagues had guided seventh graders as they constructed three-dimensional models of cells, she immediately realized the potential for fifth graders to build collaborative dioramas. Farnham observed, “They have a lot of hard things to read and write — this was a fun and exciting way to show what they had learned.”

One fifth grader reported, “We had to work together as a team. It was good to learn how to interact and cooperate.” 

“I came in thinking ‘oh, an ecosystem is an ecosystem,’” said another fifth grader. “And I came out knowing how things decompose and how water circulates and what type of animals live where and how they survive.” 🌎

Food court realpolitik arrived at Charlotte Latin School: Middle School Model UN leaders recently welcomed fifth and sixth grade students to the world of diplomacy through a cross-divisional Model UN event.

Student leaders Blake O., Powers T., Sara Grace D., Joyce S., and Henry S. helped organize the experience, visiting Grade 5 classrooms and speaking at a Middle School assembly to encourage participation.

Rather than tackling an international crisis, delegates took on a culinary challenge: imagining a new school with a cafeteria in the style of a food court. Representing constituencies that included the Cookie Coalition and Hot Dog Diplomacy, students debated, negotiated, and collaborated to determine which restaurants would earn a spot in the new venue.

Upper School students Addy Lucas ’29 and Lucas Pangalos ‘29 served as chairs, guiding delegates through parliamentary procedure while helping younger students develop confidence in skills such as public speaking.

Diplomacy has never been more delicious!

Yesterday, Charlotte Latin celebrated the hard-working people who make the school extraordinary.

At our annual Service Recognition brunch, we honored faculty and staff for their years of service and recognized colleagues whose leadership, dedication, and commitment to our community embody the very best of Latin.

We also saluted eight retiring members of our community whose combined 160 years of service have left a lasting impact on generations of Latin students, families, and colleagues. Thank you to Mark Tayloe (20 years), Patti Yakubinis (5 years), Rosario Colace (6 years), Virginia Ellison (19 years), Fay Lucas (34 years), Sally Parsley (27 years), Kay Rigo (38 years), and Robin Siczek (11 years) for all they have given to Charlotte Latin.

Congratulations to this year's award recipients!

🦅 Paulyn A. Flemm Award: Ellen Rayburn
🦅 Jane Bratton Spratt Awards: Allison Griffin, David Taylor, Brittany Mercado
🦅 Inlustrate Orbem Alumni Awards: Neil McConaughy, Rick Hutchins, Liz Matrejek, Tim Kelly
🦅 John B. Stedman Teacher Recognition Award: Annie Riddick
🦅 Steve Howard Award: Chuck Edwards
🦅 Class of ’95 Support Staff Awards: Sara Weiers, David Reyes Rivera, Rod Hyatt
🦅 Humanitarian Award: Shelly Magno

A season of excellence for Charlotte Latin's choral and instrumental musicians recently reached a crescendo. 🎶

This spring, students across our Middle and Upper School music programs earned top honors at the Music Performance Adjudication (MPA) in the Batte Fine Arts Center at Wingate University (in Wingate, NC). The MPA is a rigorous evaluation in which ensembles perform before expert judges and are assessed on musicianship and performance — and, for choirs, the singers’ ability to sight-read music they have never seen before.

The Upper School Concert Choir earned straight Superior ratings in both performance and sight-reading, achieving the highest scores in school history.

Both the 6th Grade Choir and the 7th/8th Grade Choir also earned Superior ratings in performance and sight-reading, the highest distinction awarded by adjudicators.

The Upper School Band earned a Superior rating at MPA, capping off an outstanding season and celebrating the accomplishments of its senior musicians while paving the way for the future of the program.

Congratulations to all of our student musicians — they hit a high note this spring!

Last week, Mark Tayloe was celebrated with a surprise “Clap Out” parade that celebrated his 20 years of dedicated service as Head of Lower School.

After reading a book to TK students for the final time — his selection was a book about another school administrator with an extraordinary neckwear collection, Maryann Cocca-Leffler’s Mr. Tanen’s Tie Trouble — he was astonished to be given a crown, a scepter, and an oversized necktie. He then walked through the Lower School and the Middle School, where current students, former students, and colleagues lined the hallways, cheering and chanting for him, shaking pom-poms, and showing off their own neckties.

The moral of Mr. Tanen’s Tie Trouble is “the more you give, the more you get”: the waves of gratitude and love that surrounded Mr. Tayloe was palpable proof of just how much he gave to Charlotte Latin School.