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With one day of classes and a night of fun under their belts, the students at the New England High School Summer Program arose for their second full day in Northfield ready to continue grappling with the Great Books!

Fueled in body and soul by breakfast and Mass, programmers made their way through the cool, misty Massachusetts morning to their classrooms. Tucked under their arms was Antigone, a Greek tragedy that takes place after Oedipus Rex. Antigone, the daughter of Oedipus, is distraught when her uncle Creon forbids the burial of her brother, Polyneices. Having died a traitor, Polyneices’ body is to be left for the birds and dogs, barring him from entering the underworld.

“It was really interesting to talk about,” said Beatrice K. “My section focused on piety and justice, and whether or not those two can be opposed to each other.” Other sections discussed whether Antigone’s actions were foolish. “I think her actions were right morally, but I think she executed them in a foolish way,” said Morgan S.

When class ended, the students quickly lined up for section and group photos, then headed to lunch. Over chicken cordon bleu and roasted potatoes, the programmers swapped thoughts and opinions about what they had read. Gould Hall filled up quickly as the attendees ate and chatted, while some reviewed the next class’s reading: a selection of Pre-Socratic texts on matter and mass. “It’s so cool that people thousands and thousands of years ago were writing about this,” Josie W. exclaimed.

After lunch, students headed back to the St. Gianna Molla classrooms for their afternoon class. “The readings were really dense,” said Xyliana B. “We probably could have discussed them for hours!”

Once classes were complete, the prefects led the way to the Pope St John Paul II Athletic Center for a prefects vs. attendees dodgeball tournament. Come back to the Summer Program Blog tomorrow to find out who triumphed — and for news and photos about the rest of the day’s activities!