“If you’re a language nerd, this [club] is for you,” said R.J. Sabanas, taking a break from his textbook reading to speak about the Greek Club at North Penn.

The Greek Club tends to be a lesser known organization, but within the walls of Mr. Rockey’s B-pod classroom is a whole other world of learning. The majority of the Greek Club’s members has previously taken or is in the process of taking Latin with Mr. Rockey and meets in his ninth period for the club. The members are separated into three levels of skill – introductory, beginner, and intermediate – and are then provided with a textbook with which to begin their studies. Each week, Mr. Rockey rotates to teach different groups, allowing students to work at their own pace. Ultimately, these studies are intended to prepare club members to take the National Greek Exam at the end of the year.

“It’s interesting to see the connections that can be made between Greek and other languages,” noted Alex Medoff, speaking about why he enjoys Greek Club.

Walking into the Greek Club during ninth period feels like entering a regular school day class, for up to twenty students can be seen working diligently through their workbooks as Mr. Rockey enthusiastically teaches his eager students. The energy that Mr. Rockey brings to the classroom is what the club thrives on and what keeps students coming back. After all, as mainly an academic club, Greek Club requires a degree of dedication from both teacher and student to add even more to their packed course loads.

This dedication is sure to pay off in the long run, however, for Greek club is beneficial in more ways than one. According to a multitude of research and studies, it has been proven that learning multiple languages can improve a young person’s overall cognitive development. Club members, learning both Latin and Greek, have the advantage of seeing the influences of these languages throughout the world. Students said that they have used their knowledge of Greek or Latin roots in many areas, from deciphering meanings of medical terms in biology class to easily acing their vocab quizzes in English. Though the Greek Club is lesser known within the bustling halls of North Penn High School, the work that its members are doing is impressive and worthy of recognition.