Ad Fontes seeks to offer clubs and activities that engage student interest, enhance student fellowship and further the intellectual and spiritual development of our students.

Latin Club

This Friday afternoon club uses this after-school time to teach, discuss, inspire and celebrate with students all aspects of the Greek and Roman cultures. Michelle Bollen, an 11th grade AFA student, leads this club with AFA alumni and support from Mrs. Solomon. Students learn about the myths, religions, grammar, cultures and histories of these ancient civilizations through a dynamic game. They play a jeopardy style game, called certamen, which means contest or struggle in Latin. Our students also compete throughout Virginia and Maryland in various state and national competitions during the school year. Then, many in the group go to a favorite Italian eatery for dinner and great fun. To deepen their knowledge of the Latin language and see that Latin truly is alive, advanced students have traveled to Rome, Italy as a culmination of their hard work and studies throughout the years.

Mock Trial

This past year, in our second year of Mock Trial, we were excited to win the state championships and compete at Nationals. Mrs. Faulkner and Mr. Lockhart lead this club.

The high school mock trial program is designed to encourage students to explore constitutional concepts, courtroom protocol and basic litigation skills. All the schools in a state are presented with the same mock case, usually modeled from a real-life case. The school must be prepared to prosecute and defend the case against teams from other high schools in a real courtroom before real judges and attorneys.

The students learn how to distill facts from opinion, strategize a plan for victory and then write both direct and cross examinations. They learn a scaled down version of the Federal Rules of Evidence and must use them to make objections and defend against objections, based on the law. They are also required to present their case, including five-minute opening and closing statements. Witnesses on the team are required to be so familiar with their witness’s fact statement that they could withstand grueling cross examination by the other team without tripping over the facts. They are also provided the added bonus of dramatically bringing their character to life.

This legal sport brings together many distinctive aspects of classical and Christian school program including the ability for students to decipher source documents, and the study of logic and rhetoric.

Strategy and Tactics Club

This new after school club led by Mr. Popp and Mr. Saladgya gathers students to compete in various games, including Axis and Allies. The club encourages fun competition while enhancing thinking skills.