Trinity’s third grade class will transform the campus’ upper field into ancient Rome’s Coliseum to host Ludi Romani, or The Roman Games, this Thursday.

The third grade class and their spectators will be honored to welcome his Imperial Highness Emperor Caesar Augustus, as they witness Rome’s most popular spectator sport, The Chariot Races. The fiercest competitors, consisting of four rival factions (teams) distinguished by different colors, will race and fight for victory as they jostle for position around the Circus Maximus.

Next, the brutal battles of the Roman Gladiators, the world’s finest warriors, will display their amazing strength, skill and prowess and fight to the death. Lucius, most popular with the ladies of the Roman Empire, will clash with the Bold Barbarian from Britannia, Appius. The carnage will continue as more Gladiators fight for their lives and massive fame.

The morning culminates with one of the most popular theatrical entertainments of its time, the Roman Pantomime. Consisting of nonspeaking actors, students dressed in togas will perform for the crowd using rhythmic gestures and body movements, while a chorus humorously moves the play along.

The event will be held Thursday, May 12 from 8:30 a.m. to 9:00 a.m.

“Aligned with the grammar phase of the classical education tradition, Trinity teaches the fundamental and core knowledge of historical periods and geography by broadening the student’s understanding through classroom projects, consistent analysis, and ultimately recreating the events or historical figures for a culminating project or school-wide event,” said Kevin Seitz, Grammar School Principal.

Since the beginning of the school year, the third grade students have been studying the Mycenaean Period through Hellenistic Greece, as well as Ancient Rome and the Roman Empire. In October, the class hosted the Greek Wax Museum, where after weeks of study, each student transformed into a Greek god such as Zeus, Poseidon, Apollo, Hades, Aphrodite, and Gaia, then presented as their character to the school, parents and friends.

Also this year, Trinity’s third grade class created Mycenaean Pots, Minoan Frescoes, traditional Roman theater masks, and Trojan horses; they built the Greek Pantheon (a former temple in Athens dedicated to the goddess Athena) and this month, they will build a replica of Mount Vesuvius and watch it erupt.

Trinity Classical Academy has grown from 28 students to over 550 in Transitional Kindergarten through twelfth grade, making it one of the largest classical, Christian schools in the country. The mission of Trinity Classical Academy has remained consistent: to offer a challenging education, grounded in the Christian faith and the classical tradition, to produce young men and women of virtue, wisdom, purpose and courage.