SFX second-graders create traditional Roman ‘bullas’ to learn about Latin, history, saints and the virtues

This week, Ms. Marie Hayes’s second-grade class created their own “bullas,” which are lockets customarily worn by children in ancient Rome.

A special aspect of the classical Catholic curriculum used by Saint Francis Xavier (SFX) Catholic School is that each class learns about a different era of history. Often, studies in other subjects like Latin, literature and even math and science, tie into the students’ study of their respective historical time periods.

Second-grade students at SFX School learn about Rome, from its inception as a Republic to its fall in the Fifth Century A.D. 

Given that the Romans spoke Latin, second grade is a special year for SFX Latin instructor Ms. Katie Phillips. 

According to Ms. Phillips, Roman children wore bullas not only as a status symbol but because they were prized personal and family possessions and they believed the lockets would ward off evil spirits. 

Traditional bullas were made of lead or other substances and sometimes covered with gold foil depending on the wealth of the family. 

Photo from Wikipedia.

Photo from Wikipedia.

Photo from Wikipedia.

Ms. Phillips tasked Ms. Hayes’s class with creating and decorating their own bullas and filling them with a patron saint, a Latin virtue and other items that are important to them. 

Students got to work on their bullas during class on Tuesday when they were also celebrating Catholic Schools Week (CSW) by dressing like their favorite faculty member or staff member.

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St. Francis Xavier Catholic School is an accredited classical Catholic PreK-8 school in Birmingham’s Crestline neighborhood that uses the time-tested Catholic Intellectual Tradition to form students in virtue through the pursuit of academic excellence and service toward God and neighbor. 

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