ABOUT OUR SITE AND AEQUORA
Our Aequora site is located at the Pelham Parkway-Van Nest Library in The Bronx, New York. It is a branch of The New York Public Library that provides many after-school programs and opportunities to its students, now including Latin.
Aequora is a K-8 program focused on literacy via Latin. At Pelham Parkway-Van Nest, we have chosen Aequora because we believe in the benefits of a classical education. Through The Paideia Institute’s Aequora curriculum, our volunteers harness the classical languages’ power to improve literacy, cultural understanding, and equity in education — all while making the ancient Mediterranean world fun and accessible to students of all backgrounds.
HOW WE TEACH AEQUORA
The Pelham Parkway-Van Nest location currently has three volunteers from different parts of the surrounding New York area, who are thoroughly invested in learning about the classics and sharing their love for Latin with younger students. We meet on Saturdays from 3:00 - 4:00 PM. The first three sessions of the month are in-person at the Pelham Parkway-Van Nest Library and the last session of the month is held virtually.
PHOTOS
SITE COORDINATORS
Mira Bansal and William Bramwell are both students at Horace Mann School, while Arjun Ratan is a junior at The Masters School.
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Arjun Ratan
I am currently a junior at The Masters School in Dobbs Ferry, NY. I have loved studying Latin ever since I was introduced to it in the sixth grade. At school, I am currently in the Advanced Topics in Latin Literature class. I founded the Latin club at my school and love interacting with materials and texts from all over the ancient world. Outside of Latin at school, I am a humanities kid who loves English and history, and consistent with my love of languages, I take Spanish, too. Outside of school, I play tennis and basketball and I love listening to music.
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William Bramwell
I am a senior at Horace Mann school in the Bronx. For as long as I can remember I have been fascinated by bygone ages and far-flung places, initially finding the Classics via a picture book of Homer’s Odyssey. I started taking Latin in sixth grade and picked up Ancient Greek over the summer of 2020. I love ancient history, from the Persian empire to the fall of Rome. When I’m not enveloped in the Classics you can find me playing the piano, squash, or fantasy football.
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Mira Bansal
My name is Mira, and I am a junior at Horace Mann School in the Bronx. I decided to start taking Latin because I loved the history behind all the stories, and I was fascinated by Roman mythology. I have taken Latin for six years, and this year I have just started taking Ancient Greek. I am so excited to start volunteering so that I can share my love of Latin with other kids!
