Latin at Regina Pacis Academy
Regina Pacis Academy offers students a comprehensive Latin program from Grades 1 to 8. Our goals are two-fold: students will master the foundations of Latin grammar by the end of 8th Grade and be skilled with Latin reading comprehension. While we focus on classical Latin and culture, we include supplementary lessons in ecclesiastical Latin. Students learn prayers and hymns in Latin from the first grade. They learn Latin vocabulary that relates to their Catholic faith and they learn to appreciate the role of Latin in the history and liturgy of the Catholic church. We do this in a seamless fashion. As we learn classical Latin, we make reference to the Latin of the church. The children get a sense of the evolution of the language from its use in Ancient Rome to its adaptation by the Catholic Church. Each class begins with a prayer or hymn in Latin. We are often preparing hymns for special liturgies that we celebrate. We study the meaning of the Latin in the hymns and prayers piece by piece. Recitation of Latin prayers in turn reinforces students’ fluency in Latin. Students are encouraged to recite Latin prayers in their personal prayer lives.
Our approach to teaching Latin is based on classical concepts of child development. In first and second grade, we emphasize listening, speaking, writing and memorization of words and simple sentences. In third and fourth grade, we capitalize on the ability of young children to memorize easily. Children learn some of the Latin paradigms and extensive vocabulary. By fifth grade we begin to work on reading comprehension, using in Grades 5-8 the Cambridge Latin Course. According to the design of the course, the grammar becomes more complex as students mature and develop their capacity for learning abstract concepts. By using techniques that are most appropriate for the age level, our students acquire confidence and enthusiasm for Latin.
Our 6th, 7th, and 8th graders take the National Latin Exam, which provides an opportunity for them and us to assess their progress. The National Latin Exam is administered annually to about 80,000 students worldwide, principally in the United States. Of the more than 2,600 schools participating in 2021, only 8, including Regina Pacis Academy, were elementary schools. The exam contains questions on Latin comprehension, mythology, derivatives, grammar, Roman history and geography. The student winners of the 2021 National Latin Exam are shown above.
