Grade Five students and members of the Mater Christi Latin Club had an outstanding showing at this year’s UVM Latin Day, taking home first-place honors in two competitions and representing our Burlington, Vermont school community with excellence.

Hosted annually by the University of Vermont, Latin Day is a celebrated statewide event bringing together elementary and secondary school students from across Vermont to honor the ancient Latin language, history, and traditions. This year’s theme — Heroes, Journeys, and Feats — proved to be the perfect stage for Mater Christi’s talented young scholars.

Mater Christi earned first place in two standout categories:

• Skit Competition — Students performed an original skit based on The Aeneid, the ancient Roman epic poem by Virgil.
• Shields Project — Each student painted a scene from The Aeneid onto a handcrafted cardboard shield, which were then judged in friendly school-on-school competition.

In the weeks leading up to Latin Day, Fifth Grade students immersed themselves in The Aeneid, exploring the story of Aeneas — the Trojan prince destined to journey across the Mediterranean and found the city of Rome. Each student selected a meaningful scene from the epic to interpret and paint on their own shield.

The project didn’t stop at art. Students also learned about the testudo (tortoise) formation, a legendary battle tactic used by Roman legions in which soldiers locked their shields together to form a protective shell. They practiced the formation as a class before parading their shields up to the UVM campus for competition day.

Congratulations to our Fifth Grade students and Latin Club members on this incredible achievement. We are proud of the hard work, creativity, and school spirit you brought to UVM Latin Day!