We're still trying to 'reestablish the blogging rhythm' (which just became a bit more complicated since we acquired a dog ... a tiny little maltipoo), so things will continue to be a bit out of whack (although we did fix the floating navigation thing yesterday with the help of Tangelo's tech support ... I'm still waiting from Radio to hear answers to my queries (as are several others with similar questions). Anyhoo, we start the festivities today with a piece from the Union Leader on a school's search for a motto:

Like universities, a school as rich in history as Manchester's Central High should have its own Latin motto, many say, and soon it will.

Central, the oldest public high school in New Hampshire, will celebrate its 160th anniversary next year.

Graduates include a former chief justice of the state Supreme Court, judges and lawyers, gubernatorial candidates and politicians, ambassadors, writers, inventors, noted educators, professional athletes, movie stars and comedians.

The school also has a long tradition of providing a Classical education. One of the institution's structures is named the Classical Building.

Matt Dufour, an alumnus and third-year Latin teacher at Central, did some research and discovered that despite its Classical traditions, the school did not have a Latin motto. "An institution with this much history ought to have a Latin motto," Dufour said.

Dufour talked to his classes to see whether there was any interest in assigning a motto, and when there was, he went to Principal John Rist. They decided to have a schoolwide vote to pick one.

Dufour took Latin while a student at Central, and it spurred his interest in the Classics and the language. His Latin teacher was John "Doc" Hussey, who taught at Central for 31 years before retiring four years ago.

Hussey, a part-time sports writer at the New Hampshire Union Leader, said what intrigues him is the school never had a Latin motto, even with its Classical tradition. "In all those years and as a teacher there, I never thought about it, but Mr. Dufour did," he said.

Dufour and his students worked on ideas for the motto and settled on six. Last week, the students and faculty voted for their favorite; soon, alumni and former employees will have their opportunity to weigh in through a poll on the school's Web site.

After last week's vote, Dufour said, three of the six mottos were fairly close.

The three mottos and their translations are: Nulli Secundus, Second to None; Nihil Obstat, Nothing Stands in the Way; and Respice, Adspice, Prospice, Look to the Past, Present and Future.

The other mottos students and faculty considered were: Aude Sapere, Dare to Know; Perstare et Praestare, To Preserve and Excel; and A Posse ad Esse, From Possibility to Actuality.

Dufour said he sees more student interest in Latin recently, noting his class enrollments have gone up 50 percent in three years.

Before last week's vote, students campaigned for their favorite motto, putting up posters and trying to persuade their fellow students of their wisdom.

In the last few years, Latin students have hosted Rome Day, dressing up in togas, preparing Roman food and presenting scenes from the Classics. "We invite the other classes in to see it," Dufour said.

"The program is alive and well," he said.

And soon, Central will have its very own Latin motto.