Reflections Mag FINAL.indd - Handcross Park School

20
LATIN
On Tuesday 22nd June, pupils from Years 3 – 7 went
back in time to the days of the ancient Romans.
The school was visited again by the excellent Legio
Secunda Augusta, an organisation which vividly
recreates life in Roman Britain in schools to tie in
with the curriculum.
Pupils learnt about domestic life, the weapons and
dress of a Roman legionary and the life in the army
camps. A wonderful lady with the Roman name of
Diana Augustina, told us some fascinating things
about cosmetics, hygiene, slavery, medicine, music,
jewellery and much more. She came equipped with
some very interesting props, including a skull and
some leather knickers!
Both pupils and some of the more adventurous
members of staff decided to truly enter into the spirit
of things by dressing up in Roman clothing for the
day. Most people made an effort to look the part and
there were some very eye-catching costumes to be
seen around the school.
Viv, our excellent chef, who is always up for a
challenge, produced a magnificent lunch with all the
ingredients carefully researched for their authenticity.
We had a pork and apple stew (suila malumque
pulmento) with and asparagus (asparagi), a selection
of cold dishes including olives (olivae), salads, cheeses
(casei) and flat bread followed by fruit and a type of
cheesecake with honey (mel) from an Ancient Roman
cook book. Delicious!
Everyone agreed that they had had a most informative
and entertaining time and we enjoyed looking at the
photographs which captured the mood of the day.
Luckily, we had beautiful weather and we were able
to enjoy the sunshine outside for some of the activities.
Mrs C. Gherardi