Greetings from the Head of School

Joe and Fifth Grader Reagan smile for the camera as Pre-K student James tries out one of the oversized xylophones in the music amphitheater during the grand opening of the Early Childhood Outdoor Learning Center on April 4.

Dear Trinity Community,

As you peruse this issue of Flourish, I hope you, like me, see and feel how deep and long-lasting Trinity connections are for so many members of this extraordinary community. I am in my 41st year of independent private school education, and the past nine years at Trinity have been the most fulfilling and energizing of my career. Like so many others, I have remained entranced by Trinity’s child-centered focus, which has never wavered since our humble but mighty beginnings in 1951. As the director of admissions and enrollment management and I like to say at Open Houses, Trinity simultaneously cherishes the wonder and innocence of childhood as we prepare our students for the future by shaping a strong academic and character foundation. The bedrock of who we are and what we believe is being elementary only and trusting the child as a learner. The magic of Trinity is we appear to teach serendipitously, organically, and spontaneously. Yet behind the joy, fun, and daily excitement is tremendous purpose, planning, and intent. Two articles in this issue emphasize the hard work and research that underpin our program and pedagogy, the what and how we teach. One is about the science of reading, which is a very hot topic in education, and the other is about how teachers are utilizing literacy and numeracy assessments to measure student growth and progress and guide instruction. Although Trinity is blessed with great resources, we all know it’s the teachers who make the magic possible every day with their dedication, imagination, and care for their students. Exemplifying the commitment of our faculty, our physical education team is featured in this issue; they are our longest-tenured team at 15 years with 80 cumulative years of service at Trinity! I am grateful for the creativity and commitment of all our employees, and I am honored that Trinity was included as one of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Top Workplaces for the fourth consecutive year. Also in this issue, you’ll read about our exciting campus growth that will enhance the Trinity Experience, and as always, our expansion is rooted in the needs and interests of our students. The Inspire Excellence campaign has been in the planning stages for years, and our official kickoff has been catapulted forward by the generosity of our early donors during the silent phase and the already completed Early Childhood Outdoor Learning Center and Upper Elementary classroom relocations and renovations. I can’t wait for you to read about these projects and the other amazing components that will touch the lives of all our students.

Trinity has a proud past, an exemplary present, and an

exciting future. A strength of our school is a willingness to be open to emerging research on how children best learn while preserving best-practice traditions that are meaningful for children and other community members. Enjoy reading about, and perhaps fondly remembering, Trinity’s time-honored traditions like the Pre-K Hunt for the Gingerbread Man, the Early Elementary Halloween Parade, and Fifth Grade’s annual performance of The Nutcracker. Also, pages are filled with highlights from the return of Spotlight on Art for its 40th year, which has been nothing short of spectacular. Please enjoy this special issue of Flourish as we continue to celebrate 70 years of joyful, impactful learning at Trinity School! Sincerely,

Joseph P. Marshall Head of School @JosephPMarshall