On March 31, 2026, Rice Latin students had the chance to participate in Vermont Latin Day, an event hosted by the University of Vermont from 9:00 am to 12:30 pm.
UVM puts on Latin Day at the Davis Center with the help of UVM students studying the classics, and a multitude of schools participate, including Rice Memorial, Champlain Valley Union, Woodstock, South Burlington, Mater Christi, Burlington, Riverside, and Montpelier.
Celeste Hines, a Rice junior, said that Latin Day was “really wonderful because the whole Rice Latin program comes together with all the Latin classes from all the other schools to celebrate the Latin language and culture.”
A variety of activities are held throughout the day, including a Latin quiz, referred to as probatio, that incorporates grammar, syntax, and history questions. Students from Rice won both the upperclassmen and lowerclassmen quizzes.
Another contest of the day was a recitation. Students chose a passage either from Shakespeare or written in Latin. Celeste Hines and Ziva Baker, juniors at Rice Memorial, won first and third places in the recitation respectively. Celeste won $100 for her performance at the recitation, and Ziva won $25 for hers.
The main attraction of the day, however, was a collection of Latin-themed skits put on by the students. Rice seniors, who had been practicing for three weeks to put the skit together, performed at the Davis Center on Tuesday and brought home second place.
“One of my favorite activities is the skits, which are always so creative and funny,” said Hines.
Rice seniors took the spotlight in yet another way at Latin Day, as Logan Forcier and Isabella Messineo designed artwork that would be highlighted on the front of the annual Latin Day T-shirts.
Latin Day officially concluded at 12:30 pm, but the students didn’t stop there, heading to Applebee’s for lunch with Rice Latin teacher John Cirignano after leaving the Davis Center.
“I enjoy being with my students outside of class for a change,” said Cirignano. “The students seem to really like it.”
