Beloved Herndon High School Latin teacher Christine Sleeper, who died Feb. 15, 2015 at 98, kept a Trojan horse in her classroom and a Latin word on her license plate.
Teachers, past students, and families will gather at Herndon High School on Sunday, Sept. 20 at 1 p.m.
“We all look forward to gathering and telling stories about the impact she had,” said Karen Singer, also a teacher who lives in Reston.
“One of her final wishes was for her life to be celebrated where she lived,” said Mary Abbott, of Alexandria.
She taught Latin for 30 years and turned Herndon High School’s Latin Program into the most popular foreign language at the school.
“Christine Sleeper was an extraordinary educator and scholar,” said Karen Singer. “In addition to her Latin, French and Greek teaching career, Christine was also a pilot, air traffic controller and served in World War II.”
“She was way ahead of her time,” said Singer. “She had a million credentials, she left her mark.”
Singer remembers when she was assigned to observe Singer to evaluate teaching.
“She worked magic in the classroom,” said Singer. “I got totally caught up in the instruction.”
Abbott said several of her former teachers are now Latin teachers, “a good indication of her impact,” said Abbott.
Sleeper traveled all continents; Abbott still has her postcards from Nepal, China, Antarctica, the Galapagos and more.
Come Celebrate
Celebrate the life of beloved Latin Teacher Christine Sleeper at the school on Sunday, Sept. 20 at 1 p.m.
She used to help students sell M&M’s to help raise funding to take students around the world on trips with her.
“She taught countless Fairfax County students and led them on numerous world trips. She was an inspiration to so many students and colleagues, in short to everyone who knew her,” said Singer.
Singer remembers getting the opportunity to sub for her class. She didn’t want the day wasted, and had Singer take her students to the school planetarium and discuss mythology.
“She was very inspiring,” said Abbott. “She was the kind of person that made an effort to engage you in conversation and made you feel like you're the only one being taught,” said Abbott.