Aequora at The Empathy School

About Our Site and Aequora 

Our Aequora site is located at Empathy School in Bali, Indonesia. It is an international school that provides a wide range of after-school programs and learning opportunities for its students, now including Latin.

Aequora is a K–8 program focused on literacy through Latin. At Empathy School, we chose Aequora because we believe in the value of a classical education and its ability to connect students from diverse cultural backgrounds. Many of our students come from international and digital-nomad families, and the program offers them a meaningful link to the ancient roots of many modern languages and cultures. Through The Paideia Institute’s Aequora curriculum, our volunteers use the power of classical languages to strengthen literacy, deepen cultural understanding, and promote educational equity—while making the ancient Mediterranean world fun, lively, and accessible to all learners.

Led by independent site coordinators, Aequora envisions Classics as an inclusive, diverse, and socially engaged field. Our textbook, Aequora: Teaching Literacy with Latin, introduces the basics of Latin vocabulary and grammar, Roman culture and mythology, and the connections between Latin, English, and Spanish, all through games and activities designed to show students that learning Latin is both meaningful and enjoyable.

How We Teach Aequora 

Our site was founded by Alice Zhang from Beijing, together with two student volunteers from China, Alicia Tu and Elissa Wang, who share a passion for classical languages and cross-cultural education.

Classes are held on weekdays as part of the school’s enrichment. Each session combines storytelling, games, crafts, drama, and interactive discussions to make Latin engaging and accessible for young learners.

Our lessons are organized around themes from ancient Roman life, mythology, and history. Students might compare Roman homes with houses from their own cultures, act out famous myths and historical stories, hold friendly debates about Roman foods, or build simple models such as aqueducts using recycled materials. Through these hands-on activities, students learn basic Latin vocabulary while also developing confidence, creativity, and cultural awareness.

Photos

Site Coordinators 

Our site coordinator, Alice Zhang, is a student at The Experimental High School Attached to Beijing Normal University, China. Read more about Alice below! 

Alicia Tu and Elissa Wang are student volunteers from China who serve as teaching assistants at the site. They support classroom activities, help lead games and crafts, and work closely with younger students to create a positive and engaging learning environment.

Alice Xiaoai Zhang

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Alice Xiaoai Zhang

Alice began studying Latin independently in the 8th grade, motivated by her deep interest in the civilizations of ancient Greece and Rome. Because Latin is not taught in Chinese public schools and there are no available teachers or courses, she relied on the Paideia Institute’s online learning resources to begin her studies. Along the way, she also explored Ancient Greek through self-study. She earned a perfect score on the National Latin Exam and was selected to participate in the Paideia Institute’s 2025 Living Greek in Greece High School summer program.

Alice founded the Aequora site at Empathy School in Bali to bring classical education to an international community of students. In addition to the Bali program, she has also established a Latin learning initiative at Mayfair Academy in Yunnan, China, designed to introduce classical languages to children from ethnic minority communities. Through these projects, she hopes to make the ancient world more accessible, inclusive, and meaningful for students from diverse cultural backgrounds.